The poet Juvenal wrote, “We Romans have forgotten our civic duties; the People who once approved everything, military command, high civic offices, legions, now hold back and anxiously hope for only two things: bread and circuses.”
This was written in the early 2nd century AD when Trajan was emperor. The Latin word circus means arena or amphitheater. The Circus Maximus in Rome was used primarily for chariot races (ludi circenses); it was also used for gladiator sports. The Circus Maximus, originally a wooden structure, burned many times, including in Nero’s famous 64 AD fire. Trajan enlarged and rebuilt the circus to its maximum capacity, probably over 200,000 spectators (Roman writers give various estimates). The Spanish-born Trajan discouraged Christian persecution and was supposedly baptized posthumously by Pope Gregory the Great 380 years later to save his soul or release it from Hell. Trajan was widely respected and often mentioned by Christian leaders as a “noble pagan”.
Americans beg for cheap gas and cheap medicine today.