Augustus’ Laudatio of Agrippa

Abstract

I wish, truly, that this was a skill in which I was not so well versed, that the call for commemoration was heard less often. Though if any man is owed tribute, it is Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. We met studying at Apollonia, then both filled with the youthful vigor befitting the city’s namesake.  Upon the death of my father, Divus Julius, I found in Agrippa a reliable and skilled ally. When my heart was filled with the unconquerable strength of just vengeance and my body was weakened by illness, it was he who stood by my side allowing Justitia’s sentence to be brought down upon Brutus and Cassius. Many we fought alongside at Philippi in time revealed themselves to be traitors to my father and the Roman people for whom we sought retribution. Agrippa and I together defeated Sextus Pompeius, who proved himself to be the lesser spawn of a great man. Here, my dear friend showed himself worthy of an honour which no man was bestowed before nor has been since, a golden crown ornamented by ships’ beaks.