Famous Men of Rome · Ch. XI, part 1 · Unit 2: The early Republic
13. Camillus, part 1: Veii and the schoolmaster
Goal: Your child can tell how Camillus took Veii with a tunnel, and how he sent the traitor schoolmaster back to Falerii.
You'll need
- The book, open to this chapter
- A map of Italy and the Mediterranean (a free online map or a globe)
- Paper and colored pencils
What's in the book
The first two sections of Chapter XI: Rome has besieged Veii for seven years. Camillus is made dictator, digs a tunnel under the walls, bursts up into the temple of Juno, and takes the city. Then, besieging Falerii, he refuses the gift of the children brought by a traitor schoolmaster and has the boys whip him home.
The lesson, step by step
Set the scene
SayVeii was a rich city about twelve miles from Rome, with a great stone wall and high brass gates. The book says this was about three hundred and eighty years before the birth of Christ.
Read the chapter
Read the first two sections of Chapter XI, stopping at section III. It begins:
About three hundred and eighty years before the birth of Christ the Romans had another war with the Veientians.
Tell it back
Prompts:
- Why couldn't the Romans take Veii for seven years?
- What did the soldiers hear at the end of the tunnel?
- What did the schoolmaster of Falerii do?
- What did Camillus do to him?
Talk it over
Read what Camillus said:
Villain, we Romans are not so base as you are. We do not make war upon children, but upon men who do us wrong.
Ask: Camillus could have won the town easily. Why did refusing the children win it anyway?
Remember it
SayCamillus is one of the greatest heroes in the book. Three stories about him: the tunnel, the schoolmaster, and next time, the Gauls.
Extra (optional)
Draw a cutaway picture: the city wall, the temple above, and the Roman tunnel underneath.
Answers to the book's problems
When the people of Falerii heard how fair Camillus was, they did not want to fight such a good man, so they made peace and became friends of Rome.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.