E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Belly.
The belly and its members. The fable of Menenius Agrippa to the Roman people when they seceded to the Sacred Mount: “Once on a time the members refused to work for the lazy belly; but, as the supply of food was
thus stopped, they found there was a necessary and mutual dependence between them.” Shakespeare introduces the fable in his Coriolanus, i. 1.
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The belly has no ears. A hungry man will not listen to advice or arguments. The Romans had the same proverb, Venter non habet aures; and in French, Ventre affamé n’a point d’oreilles.
