Motif
Body politic as diseased body
body_politic_as_diseased_body
A motif of the Sacred Law and Social Order family, within the sub-family Civic Order and the Body Politic. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
greek
-
The Republic BOOK V. / BOOK VI. / BOOK VII. / BOOK VIII.; lines 20975-21105 confidence: high
A diseased body is used as an analogy for a weak State: slight external provocation or internal commotion can bring illness; factions introduce oligarchical or democratical allies, and the State falls sick and becomes at war with herself.
The State is compared to a diseased body vulnerable to illness from slight external touch or internal commotion, and later as sick and at war with herself.
read in the book →