[-29-] Such was the end of Agrippa, who had in every way proved himself clearly the noblest of the men of his day and used the friendship of Augustus for the emperor's own greatest benefit and for that of the commonwealth. So much as he surpassed others in excellence, to such an extent did he voluntarily make himself lower than his patron. He employed all his own skill and bravery for what would prove most profitable to Augustus and expended all the honor and power received from him on benefiting others. As a result he never became in the least troublesome to Augustus nor the object of jealousy on the part of others. He helped his friend organize the monarchy like one who was really in love with the idea of supreme power and he won over the populace by his kindness, showing himself most truly a friend of the people. At his death he left them gardens and the bath-house called after his name, so that they might bathe free of charge; and he gave Augustus certain lands for this purpose. The latter not only rendered these public property, but distributed to the people also a hundred denarii apiece, with the explanation that Agrippa had ordered it. He had inherited most of the deceased's property, among the articles of which was the Hellespontine Chersonese, which had come I know not how into the possession of Agrippa. The emperor felt his loss for a very long time and therefore caused the populace to hold him in honor. A posthumous son born to him he called Agrippa. However, he did not allow any of the citizens to omit any of the ancestral customs (although none of the more prominent men wished to present himself for the festivals) and he personally superintended the gladiatorial combats. They were often given, too, in his absence.--This demise of Agrippa was not only a private loss to his own household, but a public loss to all the Romans, as was shown by the fact that portents occurred on this occasion as great as were usually seen before the most tremendous disasters. Owls gathered in the capital and a bolt of lightning descended upon the house at Albanum, where the consuls reside during the sacrifices.[11] The star called comet stood for several days over the City and was finally dissolved into flashes of light. Many buildings in the City were destroyed by fire, among them the tent of Romulus, which was set ablaze by crows dropping upon it burning meat from some altar.--These were the matters of interest connected with Agrippa.