This is an extract of the author's 'History of the Vestal Virgins of Rome', a facsimile of the 1934 edition, dealing with the information available on the transgressions of the Vestal Virgins and the way these were punished. Observance of the religious rites entrusted to these women was rigorous, and deviations were, according to the recorded history summarised here, dealt with severely. The ultimate punishment, for loss of chastity, was burial alive, but minor offences merited only beatings administered naked by the Pontifex Maximus in private. This extract gives a fascinating small insight into the culture of the Virgins, which whets the appetite for the whole book, although one wonders to what extent more recent research might have modified our interpretation of the evidence presented here. ( )