CHAPTER VIII.
The Paidagogos.
The Tarpeian Rock was the place where Roman criminals who had been guilty of the crime of treason were executed.

They were thrown headlong from this rock into the valley below, and perished at its base.

The rock took its name from a woman named Tarpeia, who has ever been a disgrace to her sex, and whose name was hated in Rome, for she was a traitress to her country.

For a long time the war had raged between the Romans and the Sabines.

The Romans were at last compelled to shut themselves up in their strong fortress, which the Sabines attempted to take, but in vain.
So steep were the rocks on which it stood, so strong were the walls, that the Sabines must have given up their attempt in despair, had it not been for the treachery of Tarpeia, the governor's daughter.