[13,8] Ἐνθάδε τις τῶν ἐσχηκότων τὴν ὕπατον ἀρχήν, Μάρκος Μάλλιος, ἁρπάσας τὰ ὅπλα καὶ συστὰς τοῖς βαρβάροις τόν τε πρῶτον ἀναβάντα καὶ κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ τὸ ξίφος φέροντα φθάσας παίει κατὰ τοῦ βραχίονος καὶ ἀποκόπτει τὸν ἀγκῶνα· καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ τούτῳ πρὶν {ἢ} εἰς χεῖρας ἐλθεῖν ὀρθῷ τῷ θυρεῷ πατάξας εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον ἀνατρέπει καὶ κείμενον ἀποσφάττει, ἔπειτα τοὺς ἄλλους τεταραγμένους ἤδη ἐλαύνων ὑπὸ πόδας, οὓς μὲν ἀπέκτεινεν, οὓς δὲ κατὰ τοῦ κρημνοῦ διώκων ἐξέχεεν. ἀντὶ ταύτης εὕρετο τῆς ἀριστείας τὴν πρέπουσαν τῷ τότε καιρῷ δωρεὰν παρὰ τῶν κατεχόντων τὸ Καπιτώλιον, οἴνου καὶ ζέας τὴν ἐφήμερον ἀνδρὸς ἑκάστου τροφήν. Περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ τόπῳ τὴν φυλακὴν ἐκλιπόντων, καθ´ ὃν ἀνέβησαν οἱ Κελτοί, ζητήσεως γενομένης ὅ τι χρὴ ποιεῖν, ἡ μὲν βουλὴ θάνατον ἁπάντων κατεψηφίσατο, ὁ δὲ δῆμος ἐπιεικέστερος γενόμενος ἑνὸς τοῦ ἡγεμόνος αὐτῶν ἠρκέσθη τῇ κολάσει. ἵνα δὲ φανερὸς γένοιτο τοῖς βαρβάροις ὁ θάνατος αὐτοῦ, δεθεὶς τὰς χεῖρας ὀπίσω κατὰ τοῦ κρημνοῦ βάλλεται πρὸς αὐτούς. ἐκείνου δὲ τιμωρηθέντος οὐδὲν ἔτι ῥᾴθυμον ἦν τῶν περὶ τὰς φυλακάς, ἀλλὰ παννύχιοι διετέλουν ἅπαντες ἐγρηγορότες, ὥστε τοὺς Κελτοὺς ἀπογνόντας δι´ ἀπάτης ἢ κλοπῆς καθέξειν τὸ φρούριον περὶ λύτρων διαλέγεσθαι, ἃ τοῖς βαρβάροις δόντες κομιοῦνται τὴν πόλιν.

[13,8] Thereupon one of the men who had held the office of consul, Marcus Manlius, snatched up his arms and engaged with the barbarians. The one of them who had ascended first and was bringing (p251) his sword down over Manlius' head he forestalled by striking him on the arm and cutting off his forearm, and the one who followed the first he struck in the face with his raised shield before he could come to close quarters, knocked him down and slew him as he lay there; then pressing hard upon the others, who were now in confusion, he killed some of them and pursued and pushed others over the cliff. For this act of valour he received from those who were holding the Capitol the award which was suited to those times, a man's daily ration of wine and emmer. When the question was raised what should be done in the case of those sentries who had deserted their post where the Gauls ascended, the senate voted the death penalty against them all; but the populace, showing itself more lenient, was content with the punishment of one man, their leader. However, in order that his death might be manifest to the barbarians, he was hurled down upon them from the cliff with his hands bound behind his back. When he had been punished, there was no further carelessness on the part of the sentries, but they all kept awake the whole night long. In consequence, the Gauls, despairing of taking the fortress by deceit or surprise, began to talk of a ransom, by the payment of which to the barbarians the Romans would get back the city.