[229.] The Faithless Tarpeia (Concluded)3
Tarpēia, commōta ōrnamentīs Sabīnōrum pulchrīs, diū resistere nōn potuit et respondit: “Date mihi4 ōrnāmenta quae in sinistrīs bracchīs geritis, et celeriter cōpiās vestrās in Capitōlium dūcam.” Nec Sabīnī recūsāvērunt, sed per dūrās magnāsque castellī portās properāvērunt quō5 Tarpēia dūxit et mox intrā validōs et altōs mūrōs stābant. Tum sine morā in6 Tarpēiam scūta graviter iēcērunt; nam scūta quoque in sinistrīs bracchiīs gerēbant. Ita perfida puella Tarpēia interfecta est; ita Sabīnī Capitōlium occupāvērunt.
3. Explain the use of the tenses in this selection.
4. to me.
5. quō = whither, to the place where. Here quo is the relative adverb. We have had it used before as the interrogative adverb, whither? to what place?
6. upon.
[ LESSON XXXIX]
THE THIRD DECLENSION · CONSONANT STEMS
[230.] Bases and Stems. In learning the first and second declensions we saw that the different cases were formed by adding the case terminations to the part of the word that did not change, which we called the base. If to the base we add -ā in the first declension, and -o in the second, we get what is called the stem. Thus porta has the base port- and the stem portā-; servus has the base serv- and the stem servo-.
These stem vowels, -ā- and -o-, play so important a part in the formation of the case terminations that these declensions are named from them respectively the Ā- and O-Declensions.