ROMAM (To Rome)



I have in my palm, replicas of Roman coins from different epochs. Only one fits in the time of the historical Jesus -- The smallest of the supposed to be a silver coin, which is actually a reproduction of the "denarius" of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD).

Now let's imagine ourselves in Roman times. How many denarii would you need for a common household product, for example, wine? For a bottle of wine in today's standard, which is equivalent to the imperial measurement of 2 "sextarius", you have to pay 30 denarii. Quite expensive, to let's say a teacher, who at that time only earns 180 dinarri per annum. A soldier in the time of Augustus gets almost double, at 300 denarii (Kawawang teacher, noon pa).

Coins were not only for commerce, but it was also a symbol of imperial power, the face of the emperor molded in the metal currency acting as his "profile picture". With it, citizens of the empire would have that experience of coming face to face with the highest representative of the Pax Romana.

We don't have emperors anymore but nowadays presidents and leaders could also yield such immense power because they also represent the economic viability of a nation. Everybody crowds around a president, we put guards beside him, we put him in a limo, make sure he remains healthy, etc. And to be honest, the reason why we voted for such a leader is that this one assures us of our social and economic well being. In short, a steady flow of money.

In the great temple of Jerusalem, about 2 thousand years ago, it was said that somebody caused a commotion, sort of a stampede. Accusing the religious leaders of converting the temple into a house of shekels and dinaari. -- the house of money. Well, it was interesting to note that said person was the same guy who held a denarius (I supposed) and asked somebody: whose image is seen in the metal. Later saying: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."

The only problem nowadays is the difficulty of telling the difference between what is for the divine and what is for the exhaustible meaning of money.

Pasig City 8. April 2020

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