This article contributes to understanding metaphors of social ties, as in what links individuals to one another and ideas of collective society like “state,” “nation,” or “the people.” Though they have been around for centuries, over the last few decades it has turned into a main trope in the humanities and social sciences. There are two main aims in this article. The first is to comparatively analyze the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Émile Durkheim, both of whom used this metaphor a lot and this metaphor played an important role in their theories. The second aim is to dig deeper into this metaphor in terms of values, knowledge and existence.