The ancient Roman Empire—though mainly just the era of the emperors—is an interesting phenomenon in that it offers a wide variety of allegorical material. Perhaps history is at its most interesting when it has some kind of living connection to our own time. And if one believes this—as this publication does—then it is natural to dig up various, sometimes insignificant, minor events from history and attempt to interpret them in a new way relevant to our own time. In this publication, we refer to this activity as “whimsical history.”
Take, for example, the word “trivial,” which originates from ancient Rome. Originally, it literally meant a three-way intersection (tri meaning “three,” via meaning “road”). In those days, road intersections were quite rare in rural areas, even though the Romans built a fair number of roads. These three-way intersections were sometimes bustling with activity, with all sorts of things passing through them: soldiers, slaves, building materials, animals, food, clothing, firewood, and just about anything else.
Before long, people began to stop and rest, and start chatting for a moment. The adjective “trivialis” was coined to describe the everyday and the ordinary. At the three-way intersections, people would stop to chat, gossip, ask about each other’s well-being and the latest news, share their feelings, and report on various events. There, people rarely talked about serious topics like science, art, or other weighty matters; instead, they discussed the weather, gossip, potholes in the road, and other such things. Afterward, it was undoubtedly more pleasant to continue on their way and get back to their business.
It’s easy to imagine that this kind of lighthearted conversation would have been clearly enjoyable and relaxing, especially if the task at hand was carrying very heavy objects over long distances. Perhaps chatting at a three-way intersection was a form of leisure time back then—quality time for drivers and carters. One could even imagine two slaves carrying heavy loads meeting each other at the crossroads (at that time, some slaves might have traveled independently to carry out various tasks), stopping to chat for a moment about everyday matters, and then continuing on their way, invigorated by the interesting news. A moment of quality time for the slaves!
The meaning of the word “trivial” could have evolved in a positive direction, especially if everyday life had come to be valued more highly. But no—in the Middle Ages, it came to mean the lowest level of learning (the trivium), that is, something underdeveloped that one should move beyond. However, there is no point in criticizing everyday life on the grounds that it is underdeveloped. It is what people have chosen.
If you want to belittle everyday life, you can call it banal, for example. That is, something that, due to constant repetition, has lost its meaning, become dull, repetitive, and unimaginative—something for which you can no longer recall the original reason for its existence.
But social interaction isn't banal—it's often trivial, though. And that's just fine.
Stop, everyone! Start talking.
