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Your comment reminds of the young man on Twitter complaining about how men would go to war and command legions back in the day instead of working boring 9-5 job
by churchill 2y ago
Your comment reminds of the young man on Twitter complaining about how men would go to war and command legions back in the day instead of working boring 9-5 jobs. Brett Devereaux (A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry) did the math [0] and the chances of being peasant was 9/10 while chances of commanding a legion was 1 out of 19,200
Quoting Brett, "Buddy, you wouldn't have been leading legions, you'd have been a damn peasant, listening to the Roman aristocrat whose estate your farm borders lecture you on how you are the problem, as your family literally starves to death."
It also reminds me European types who dream of the glorious Roman Empire, forgetting that if you weren't Italian, there was a very high chance you'd be one of those enslaved with your entire tribe after losing yet another war with the Romans.
That's the thing about people imagining the past: they always imagine they'd be a noble where they'd be a peasant.
[0]: https://x.com/BretDevereaux/status/1666297251004596224 https://x.com/BretDevereaux/status/1666297251004596224