Manlius
Marcus. A Roman who was consul in B.C. 392, took
refuge in the Capitol when Rome was taken by the Gauls in 388 (Mommsen). One night, when the
Gauls endeavored to ascend the Capitol, Manlius was roused from his sleep by the cackling of
the geese; collecting hastily a body of men, he succeeded in driving back the enemy, who had
just reached the summit of the hill. From this heroic deed he is said to have received the
surname of Capitolinus. In 385 he defended the cause of the plebeians, who were suffering
severely from the harsh and cruel treatment of their patrician creditors. In the following
year he was charged with high treason by the patricians; and being condemned to death by the
people, he was hurled down the Tarpeian Rock by the tribunes. The members of the Manlia gens
accordingly resolved that none of them should ever bear in future the praenomen of
Marcus. See Mommsen,
Hist. of Rome, i. pp. 380, 381, 429
(Amer. ed.
1888).
