Agricola 4

Study Guide Questions for Ch. 36-46

If you are looking for the beginning of the study of Tacitus’ Agricola then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of available book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!

Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Prudence, Virtue & Vice, Duty, Immortality

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. According to Tacitus, what made the Britanni sword ineffective for close quarter fighting?

2. What did Tacitus say “might have led to disaster” for the Romans and what prevented this?

3. How did Tacitus describe the behavior of the defeated Britanni (once they knew they were truly defeated)?

4. What did Tacitus say was Domitian’s inward reaction versus his outward reaction to Agricola’s success in Britannia?

5. What did Tacitus say was the reaction of “the majority” of people who saw Agricola after his return to Rome?

6. What, according to Tacitus, was the real source of danger for Agricola?

7. What happened which caused the very “maintenance of the empire” to be in serious danger and what did the people call for as a result?

8. What did Agricola, under much pressure, ask to be excused from?

9. What “persistent rumor” surrounded Agricola’s death?

10. What “blessed age” did Agricola not live to see?

11. What circumstance cause Tacitus and his wife (Agricola’s daughter) to suffer “more than the pang of a father’s loss?”

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. Tacitus said that Agricola’s “very lack of hurry” inspired fear in the Britanni. Why would that be?

2. Tacitus wrote, “There was nothing Domitian feared so much as to have the name of a subject raised above that of the prince.” What did he mean by this? Why would that concern Domitian?

3. Why would Agricola have wished to not “publicize his arrival by the pomp of a crowded welcome” and, rather, to enter the city by night?

4. Tacitus stated, “Agricola, both by his own virtues and the vices of others, was driven headlong towards glory.” What did he mean by this? How was this so?

5. Why did “public opinion” begin to “clamour for Agricola to take command?”

6. Tacitus said, “It is a distinctive feature of human nature to hate those whom you have harmed.” Why might this be? Why not rather say, “to harm those one hates?” What did he mean?

7. Why would Agricola put Domitian in his will as a co-heir when he had behaved so unjustly towards him? 

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Tacitus wrote, “Let it be clear to those inclined to admire unlawful acts that even under bad emperors men can be great, and that a sense of duty and discretion, if backed by ability and energy, can reach that peak of honor that many have stormed by precipitous paths, winning fame, without serving country, through an ostentatious death.” In light of this, to what degree does having a just ruler facilitate the rearing of great men? To what degree does living under an unjust ruler also bring about opportunities for great men to appear? Under which circumstance, just rulers and unjust rulers, do you suppose great men are most likely to come to be and/or be easily perceived? Explain your rationale for your answer.

2. Tacitus wrote, “I would not ban completely likenesses in marble or bronze But the image of the human face, like the face itself, is feeble and perishable, whereas the essence of the soul is eternal, to be caught and expressed not through the substance and skill of another, but only by individuals in their own lives. All that we loved in Agricola, all that we esteemed, abides and shall abide in the hearts of men, through endless ages, in the chronicles of fame. For many men of old will be lost in oblivion, their name and fame forgotten. Agricola’s story has been told to posterity and, so handed down, he will live.” How important is it to be remembered or revered by future generations? To what degree, if any, should we seek after this? Why might Christians think about this differently than some other religions? If we should seek this for ourselves, why? If we should not seek it for ourselves, why not? Finally, should we seek the preservation of others' fame if not our own? Why or why not?

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read 1 Samuel 18:6-16. How might we relate this story from Scripture to Agricola’s situation with Domitian? What should we learn from these things?

2. Read Philippians 1:12-18. How is Paul’s situation similar to Agricola’s toward the end of his life?