474 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 
[2"@ §, No 24., Junm 14, 956, 
wings, seized his arms; gave the alarm, and, run- 
ning to the wall, struck down the Gaul who had 
already reached the parapet (v. 47.). It seems to 
be here intimated that the Romans owed their 
deliverance to their piety, in preserving the sacred 
geese during the privations of a siege. 
Plutarch, in his “ Life of Camillus,” describes 
the same event. The Gauls (he says) climbed 
the Capitol so silently, that neither man nor dog 
perceived them. But there were (he continues) 
some sacred geese, at the Temple of Juno, which 
in ordinary times were plentifully fed; but as 
food was now scanty, they were neglected, and in 
bad plight. Naturally, indeed, the goose is quick 
in its perceptions, and sensitive to sounds: these 
birds moreover being rendered wakeful and noisy 
by hunger, speedily perceived the approach of the 
Gauls, and, running towards them with screams, 
aroused the garrison. Manlius, at the head of 
the defenders, attacked the two foremost Gauls ; 
he cut off the right hand of one, and with his 
shield pushed the other down the wall (Camill., 
27.) This narrative is repeated by Plutarch in 
his Treatise de Fort. Rom. 12., and is abridged 
by Zonaras (vii. 23.). 
The account. of Dionysius (xiii. 10.) is, that 
none of the sentinels perceived the ascent of the 
Gauls; but that some sacred geese, which were 
kept in the precinct of the Temple of Juno, run- 
ning towards the Gauls with screams, gave the 
alarm. No allusion is made to the silence of the 
dogs. The encounter of Manlius with the Gauls 
is described as taking place within the Capitol. 
Manlius cuts off the arm of the foremost Gaul at 
the elbow, throws him down with his shield, and 
kills him on the ground. According to Diodorus 
(xiv. 116.) the Gauls scaled the Capitol at mid- 
night; the guards had relaxed their vigilance on 
account of the steepness of the ascent, and did 
not perceive their approach; but some geese, 
sacred to Juno, which were feeding on the spot, 
saw them ascending, and made a noise. ‘The 
sentinels ran to the place; Manlius cut off the 
hand of the leading man with his sword, and 
hurled him down the rock by striking him on the 
breast with his shield. Dio. Cassius (Fragm., 
xxv. 8, edit. Bekker) says, that the Gauls would 
have taken the citadel, if some sacred geese, which 
were kept there, had not announced the attack of 
Miseneny: and awakened the Romans within the 
walls. 
According to Servius (Zin. viii. 652.), Man- 
lius drove the Gauls down from the Capitol, having 
been wakened by the screams of a goose, which 
some private person had presented as a donation 
to the goddess Juno, Florus (i. 13. § 15.) also 
says that Manlius, wakened by the screams of a 
goose, threw the Gauls from the top of the rock, 
during a nocturnal assault. A similar statement 
is in Victor de Vir, illust. (c. 24.). VWegetius (De 
re Milit., iv. 26.) likewise speaks of Manlius 
having been roused from sleep by the screams of 
a goose. He remarks on the wonderful stroke of 
fortune, that a single bird should have preserved 
a nation which was destined to conquer the world. 
Virgil’s description of this event, introduced as 
one of the subjects on the shield of A2neas, men- 
tions only a single goose : 
“ Atque hic auratis volitans argenteus anser 
Porticibus, Gallos in limine adesse canebat ; 
Galli per dumos aderant, arcemque tenebant, 
Defensi tenebris et dono noctis opace.” 
LEn. Vili. 655-8, 
fElian, De Nat. Anim. (xii. 33.) says, that the 
Romans discovered, by a practical example, that 
the goose is a more effective guardian than the 
dog. When the Gauls scaled the Capitol, they 
threw food to the dogs, which ate it in silence; 
but the geese, as is their nature, made a noise 
during the same operation; which awoke Man- 
lius, and saved the Capitol. This explanation of 
the noise made by the geese differs from that of 
the other writers. It may be observed that ASlian 
confounds Marcus Manlius, the saviour of the 
Capitol, who was executed in 384 B.c., with Titus 
Manlius Torquatus, who executed his son in 340 
B.c., forty-four years afterwards. 
The vigilance of the goose is alluded to more 
than once by Ovid. He describes the goose of 
Bancis and Philemon, as the guardian of their 
cottage : 
“ Unicus anser erat, minime custodia ville, 
Quam dis hospitibus domini mactare parabant.” 
Met. viii. 686-7. 
Of the Cave of Sleep, he says : 
“ Non vigil ales ibi cristati cantibus oris 
Evyocat Auroram, nec voce silentia rumpunt 
Sollicitive canes, canibusve sagacior anser.” 
Met. xi. 597-9. 
Lucretius mentions the acute perceptions of the 
goose, and attributes them to its sense of smell : 
“ Humanum longe presentit odorem, 
Romulidarum arcis servator, candidus anser.” 
iv. 686-7. 
According to Columella, de Re Rust. (viii. 13.) 
the goose is a peculiar favourite with farmers, be- 
cause it does not require much care, and it is a 
more effective guardian than the dog; for it gives 
notice of the movements of ill-disposed persons by 
its noise; as is reported to have happened in the 
siege of the Capitol, when it screamed at the ap- 
proach of the Gauls, although the dogs were silent. 
Michael Glycas, a writer who lived not earlier 
than the twelfth century, speaks likewise of the 
watchfulness of the goose, and the quickness of its 
perceptions, when persons approach by stealth: 
and in support of this assertion, he refers to its 
preservation of the imperial city, when certain 
enemies were about to seize the Capitol, having 
entered it by concealed mines (Anznal, lib. i, vol. i. 
