Cornelius Tacitus, the great Roman historian of the first century AD, describes the life of his father-in-law through accounts on the battles, personal traumas, and balance of hubris and sophrosyne that Agricola gracefully triumphed. The work does not wait to delve directly into the achievements of Agricola as it only briefly covers his early life. Tacitus begins with the precursor that “it was the practice of our forefathers to bequeath to posterity the history of the deeds and the characters of great men…” thus immediately, Agricola is characterized as one worthy of such a history which encourages a reader to proceed and most likely to share the work(1). The following essay argues that such accounts have made the name of Agricola endure …show more content…
He first states the Agricola meets the criteria of coming from an important family and second that Agricola mastered the “hardest lesson that philosophy has to teach––moderation” (4). As we continue through the treatise, Tacitus constantly reminds his audience that Agricola was able to do all that he did because of his mastery of moderation. Whether on the battlefield in his personal life, Agricola carried himself with a “good and healthy disposition” (4). For example, upon his first successes in Britain Agricola urged that “the amenities of life should give a taste for peace and quietness,” namely that one should live a humble life but still take what they need for peace (21). Or when he maintained his disposition when his mother was murdered and composed himself when he was called to duty by Vespasian (7). Such moderation and balance was performed by Agricola even in the way he managed himself in commanding his ranks as his “cordiality to a good soldier was proportionate to a bad one; but after his anger abated he harbored no malice; when he held his tongue it was not an ominous sign, and he thought it a more honorable part to chide a man openly than to bear a grudge” (22). Thus, we see that Agricola because of this core value was able to lead effectively, and maintain a sense of