When Nic discovers Radulf at Tacitus’s palace in Chapter 47, Radulf reveals that he has had the emperor killed. It was his retaliation for the bargain he made with Nic and a “blow for the empire on the day Valerius chooses to declare war against me” (329). If Radulf is displeased with the next emperor, he will repeat the process. He is not concerned about the response of the Roman people but will do what “rulers of this empire have done for centuries,” which is to distract them “with bread and circuses” (329).

The phrase first appears in a poem by Roman satirist Juvenal, who was active in the century before the novel is set. As Juvenal applied the term, it meant that the Roman people, who had once been politically engaged and active in shaping the life of the city, had allowed themselves to trade their civic roles and responsibilities for superficial pacification.

Though the term only appears at the end, in the mouth of Radulf, the concept is a motif threaded through the novel in support of the theme of The Pursuit of Freedom in Body and Mind. The Roman mob and the need to pacify and distract it is referred to several times across the novel, and Livia, Sal, and Felix are all portrayed at times prioritizing their comfort and security.