A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

918 MANILIU$S. MANILIUS.
three the founders of jus civile. Pomponids -says he was under fifty years of age when he was consul,
that Manilius wrote three treatises, which were and seventy at the date given to the supposed
extant in his time, and was a consular. Manilius, dialogue. [G. L.]
therefore, appears to be the consul of B. c. 149, with MANI'LIUS (Miarcus or Caius), or MA'NL. Marcius Censorinus. In B.C. 149 the third LIUS, or MA'LLIUS, for all of these and many
Punic war commenced, and Manilius and his col- other variations are found in MSS., the weight of
league were appointed to conduct it. They made evidence being in favour of M. Manilius, is known
an attack on Carthage, and burnt the Carthaginian to us as the author of an astrological poem in five
fleet in sight of the city (Liv. Epit. 49; Florus, books, entitled Astronomica. The greatest uncerii. 15). The campaign of Manilius is described at tainty prevails on every point connected with his
length by Appian (Punic. 75-109). Carthage was personal history. By some critics he is supposed
taken by PI Scipio Africanus the younger, B. C. to be the Manilius described by Pliny (H. N. x. 2),
146. During his consulship Manilius wrote to as " Senator ille maximis nobilis doctrinis doctore
the Achaeans to send Polybius to Lilybaeum, as he nullo," who first collected accurate information with
wanted his services. But on arriving at Corcyra, regard to the phoenix, and maintained that the
Polybius found a letter from the consuls, which period of its life corresponded with the revolution
informed him that the Carthaginians had given all of the Great Year (magni conversionem anni), in
the hostages, and were ready to obey their orders, which the heavenly bodies completed a perfect
and that they considered that the war was ended, cycle; by others to be the Manilius Antiochus
and the services of Polybius were not wanted, styled "astrologiae conditorem," who came to
upon which Polybius returned to the Peloponnesus. Rome as a slave, along with Publius Syrus the
(Polyb. lib. xxxvii. ed. Bekker.) The fact of mimographer, and Staberius Eros the grammarian
Manilius the jurist having been consul is stated by (Plin. H. N. xxxv. 58); by others, to be the
Pomponius, and he must therefore have been the "Manlius Mathematicus" who,, in the time of
consul of B. C. 149, for there is no other to whom Augustus, adjusted the obelisk in the Campus
all the facts will apply. Cicero (Brutus, 16) re- Martius, so as to act as a sun-dial (Plin. H.
marks that the elder Cato died in the consulship of N. xxxvi. 15. ~ 6); by others, to be no other
L. Marcius and M. Manilius, eighty-six years than Fl. Mallius Theodorus, on whose consulship
before his own consulship, which was B. C. 63. Claudian composed a panegyric, in which he extols
Cicero, in another passage in the Brutus (c. 28), his knowledge of the stars. Little proof has been
speaks of M. Manilius as possessing some oratorical adduced in support of these conjectures, beyond
power, and makes him the contemporary of various the mere correspondence of name, and the cirorators of the period of the Gracchi. The propriety cumstance that each of the individuals selected is
of Manilius and Scipio being introduced in the De believed to have been more or less addicted to the
Re Publica appears from the fact that Scipio served study of the heavens, while many grave consideraunder Manilius and his colleague in the campaign tions forbid us to adopt any one of them. It does
of B.C. 149, and Manilius bore testimony to the not appear that Manlius the senator composed
great services of Scipio (Appian, Punic. 105), who any work at all upon astronomical topics. It is
was afterwards appointed to conduct the war. impossible that Manlius Antiochus, to whose claims
The reputation of Manilius was not founded on the expression " founder of astrology" might seem
his military services. Cicero (de Orat. i. 48) men- to give some force, can be the person, for we know
tions M. Manilius as a real jurisconsult, in con- from Suetonius, that his companion Staberius Eros
nection with Sextus Aelius and P. Scaevola. L. taught a school during the Sullan troubles, while
Crassus (Cic. de Orat. iii. 33) says of M. Manilius, Manlius, of whom we are in search, cannot, as we
" I have seen him walking backwards and forwards shall point out immediately, have flourished earlier
across the forum, which was a token that a man than nearly a century after that date. Manlius
who was doing this was ready to give his advice " the mathematician" exists only in the more corto all the citizens; and to such persons in olden rupt copies of the naturalist, the proper name being
time, both when they were walking about, and when rejected as an interpolation by all the best editors.
seated at home in their chair, it was the practice Claudian, although he dilates upon the moral perto go and to consult them, not only about the jus fections and literary distinction of Mallius, and
civile, but about marrying a daughter, buying a bestows unmeasured praise on his essay concerning
piece of land, cultivating ground, and in fine, on the origin and arrangement of the world, gives no
every thing that a man had to do, and on every hint that the stoical principles which it advocated
business transaction." Among the legal writings of were developed'in verse, but, on the contrary, deManilius was a treatise on the conditions appli- clares that the honey of its refined eloquence (sercable to sales (venaliumr veendndorum leges, Cic. de mnonis mella politi) was to be preferred to the enOrat. i. 58), which was apparently a book of chanting songs of Orpheus; while Salmasius (ad
forms. Probably he may have written on other Amnpelium, p. 91) avers that this very treatise in
subjects besides law. (Cic. Brut. 28, ed. H. prose by Theodorus, was still to be found in certain
Meyer.) The time of the birth and death of libraries, and P. J. Maussaeus proposed to give it
Manilius is not known. He is mentioned by to the world. Finally, the arguments advanced by
Cicero (de Rep. iii. 10) as having been accustomed Gevartius and Spanheim, to prove from the language
to give legal opinions before the Lex Voconia was of the Astronomica, that these books must have been
enacted, which law was enacted B. C. 169. The composed as late as the reign of Theodosius the
time which Cicero fixes as the date of the sup- Great, have been fully confuted by Salmasius,
posed dialogue De Re Publica (" Tuditano Cons. Huetius, Scaliger, Vossius, and Creech. The fact
et Aquilio," de Rep. i. 9) is B.c. 129, or forty is, that no ancient writer with whom we are
years after the enactment of the Lex Voconia. acquainted, either takes any notice of a poet MaIf Manilius was giving legal opinions before the nilius, or quotes a single line from the poem. IHe
date of the Lex Voconia, we cannot suppose that is not mentioned by Ovid in his catalogue of con