Famous Men of Rome · Ch. IV, part 2 · Unit 1: The kings of Rome

6. The Tarquins, part 2: Servius Tullius and Tarquin the Proud

Goal: Your child can tell what King Servius did (the wall and the first census) and the story of the Sibyl's books, and can describe a Roman book.

⏱ About 25 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this chapter
  • Paper and colored pencils
  • Tape and two pencils, to make a scroll

What's in the book

Section IV of Chapter IV: good King Servius Tullius finishes the city wall and takes the first census. He is killed by Tarquin the Proud, and his daughter Tullia drives over his body. The Sibyl of Cumae sells Tarquin her books, burning three each time he refuses. The chapter explains Roman books, papyrus and the volume.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Set the scene

    SayToday we meet the last two kings of Rome, one good and one so cruel that the Romans never wanted a king again.

  2. Read the chapter

    Read from section IV to the end of the chapter. It begins:

    On the death of Tarquin his son-in-law Servius Tullius was made king.

    The killing of Servius and Tullia's chariot are told in two sentences. You can read them plainly and move on.

  3. Tell it back

    Prompts:

    - What two big things did Servius do for Rome?

    - Why was the new king called "the Proud"?

    - What did the old woman do each time Tarquin refused her books?

  4. Think it through

    Ask: The Sibyl asked the same price for 3 books as for 9. How many times as much did each book cost at the end? (Three times as much.)

    Ask: What lesson might the story teach about waiting too long to decide?

  5. Words from Rome

    The book says:

    King Servius was the first to have a census taken in Rome.

    SayCensus is Latin for a counting. Our country still counts its people every ten years. Two more words: paper comes from papyrus, and volume comes from volumen, a roll.

  6. Make a volume (optional)

    Tape three or four sheets of paper side by side into a long strip. Write a few lines of today's story on it. Tape a pencil to each end and roll it up, the way a Roman reader unrolled with one hand and rolled with the other.

Afterwards

Ask your child to explain to someone else what a Roman book looked like.

Answers to the book's problems

Servius finished the great wall around the city and took the first census. Tarquin was called Superbus, the Proud, because he was haughty and cruel. Each time, she burned three of the books and came back asking the same price.

Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.

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