The New International Encyclopædia/Manilius, Marcus

MANIL′IUS, Marcus. The supposed name of the author of a Latin poem on astrology entitled Astronomica. Nothing is known of his personality, but he is assumed to have lived in the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. Five books of his poem are preserved, treating of the constellations and their influence on human life. The work is of no great poetic value, but exhibits diligence and great research. There are no recent editions, but several old ones, including those of Scaliger (Leyden, 1579 and 1600), Bentley (London, 1739), and Jacob (Berlin, 1846), and an English translation by Creech (London, 1697). Consult Ellis, Noctes Manilianæ (Oxford, 1801).