As seen in the film, when entering the circus, gladiators greeted the emperor with a cry: Ave, Caesar, morituri salutant you. Then, whatever the film was, those poor devils were fighting each other or horrible fiera, precisely. At the culminating moment, finally, the head of the show could, with a small gesture, determine the destiny of the loser: turning the thumb around meant that he was worth living, while the thumb movement down condemned him to death.

Historians have long claimed that the film industry has exaggerated gladiators’ peripetees and that in their struggles the deaths were not so frequent. According to expert estimates, only one in ten showers had a tragic end. In addition, alongside slaves and prisoners, there were professional athletes. The best of the athletes were real stars and the public wanted to see them.

“Panem et circenses”. Circus shows were more like the current sports championships than the heroic image that Hollywood has nailed to us. There is no doubt that American cinema has blurred the history of Rome for the benefit of ambitious stories. The same goes for western and gangster films.

Having said that, I have kept in my memory the epic figure of gladiators and emperors. I remember him every time HABE's written proof of expression approaches us. I imagine the students, in taking the place at BEC, unanimously pleading: “HABE, morituri saves you.” After that, I see them in an agonistic struggle with the subject that has touched them and with their own monsters. Finally, there's the thumb of the examiner to decide whether to throw the play to the subscriber or the bran assembly.

In the case of tests, the data are far worse than gladiators. If we look at the latest results available on the network, 60% of enrolled students obtained the title of B2, 36% the C1 and 25% the Cedido. If we were in the circus in Rome, or if we had a Hollywood writer, the vision of the Euskaltegi would be that of the executioner who is cleaning up the blood of those who have fallen into the written expression test.

One in four. I have already done my calculations for the examination we will have at the beginning of May. On average, five of the twenty students I will send to BEC will be able to say, as Julius Caesar had just defeated King Farnaces, “veni, vidi, vici.” The remaining fifteen will not pass through the test barrier and will be waiting for the October option.

Fiction increases reality. Or the other way around? There are those who say that reality always exceeds fiction. Well, be it one truth or the other, let's see if our movie has a happy ending.