Personal blog #1
As a general rule whenever I want to look up anything quickly I turn to Wikipedia. It may not be the best research tool I know, but it's good for getting to the point quickly. So when my group brought up the idea of using the concept of "Bread and Circuses" in our presentation I had no idea what that was. The phrase originated from Ancient Roman times from a satirical poem titled Satire X written by Juvenal. The poem goes as follows:
It is to be prayed that the mind be sound in a sound body.
Ask for a brave soul that lacks the fear of death,
which places the length of life last among nature’s blessings,
which is able to bear whatever kind of sufferings,
does not know anger, lusts for nothing and believes
the hardships and savage labors of Hercules better than
the satisfactions, feasts, and feather bed of an Eastern king.
I will reveal what you are able to give yourself;
For certain, the one footpath of a tranquil life lies through virtue.
Not only did I learn that panem is latin for bread (which gives some added depth to The Hunger Games series), but that the idea of a false Good was the center piece of the poem. I got even more curious as to who was Juvenal and why does this poem exist? I turned to A Companion to Persius and Juvenal by Susanna Brand and Josiah Osgood. There is a quotation describing that "Juvenal is not just a fighter, but holds up the 'lamp of Venusia" (13). What this says to me is that he not only was "fighting the government" but also bringing light to the issues so others can join his fight. The idea of bread and circuses is a distraction and Juvenal's goals within his writings was to not be distracted by bread an circuses when there are bigger problems at hand. It's something I found very intriguing seeing our group is focusing on the acts of Roman Spectacle in comparison to the fall of Rome.
Ask for a brave soul that lacks the fear of death,
which places the length of life last among nature’s blessings,
which is able to bear whatever kind of sufferings,
does not know anger, lusts for nothing and believes
the hardships and savage labors of Hercules better than
the satisfactions, feasts, and feather bed of an Eastern king.
I will reveal what you are able to give yourself;
For certain, the one footpath of a tranquil life lies through virtue.
Not only did I learn that panem is latin for bread (which gives some added depth to The Hunger Games series), but that the idea of a false Good was the center piece of the poem. I got even more curious as to who was Juvenal and why does this poem exist? I turned to A Companion to Persius and Juvenal by Susanna Brand and Josiah Osgood. There is a quotation describing that "Juvenal is not just a fighter, but holds up the 'lamp of Venusia" (13). What this says to me is that he not only was "fighting the government" but also bringing light to the issues so others can join his fight. The idea of bread and circuses is a distraction and Juvenal's goals within his writings was to not be distracted by bread an circuses when there are bigger problems at hand. It's something I found very intriguing seeing our group is focusing on the acts of Roman Spectacle in comparison to the fall of Rome.
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