> This alone is what the Roman people, once masters of the world, care for now: food and circuses!
Juvenal was using the phrase "bread and circuses" to describe the way in which the Roman people had become complacent and distracted from their civic responsibilities. He was criticizing the government for providing the people with food and entertainment in order to keep them docile and prevent them from revolting.
The phrase "bread and circuses" has come to be used more generally to describe a situation in which people are kept content and docile by being provided with basic necessities and entertainment. It is often used in a negative sense, to criticize governments or other organizations that use this strategy to control the people.