Censōres

, two magistrates of great authority at Rome, first created B.C. 443. Their office was to number the people, estimate the po e ions of every citizen, reform and watch over the manners of the people, and regulate the taxes. Their power was also extended over private families; they punished irregularity, and inspected the management and education of the Roman youth. They could inquire into the expenses of every citizen, and even degrade a senator from all his privileges and honours, if guilty of any extravagance. This punishment was generally executed in pa ing over the offender’s name in calling the list of the senators. The office of public censor was originally exercised by the kings. Servius Tullius, the sixth king of Rome, first established a census , by which every man was obliged to come to be registered, and give in writing the place of his residence, his name, his quality, the number of his children, of his tenants, estates, and domestics, . The ends of the census were very salutary to the Roman republic. They knew their own strength, their ability to support a war, or to make a levy of troops, or raise a tribute. It was required that every knight should be po e ed of 400,000 sesterces to enjoy the rights and privileges of his order; and a senator was entitled to sit in the senate, if he was really worth 800,000 sesterces. This laborious task of numbering and reviewing the people was, after the expulsion of the Tarquins, one of the duties and privileges of the consuls. But when the republic was become more powerful, and when the number of its citizens was increased, the consuls were found unable to make the census, on account of the multiplicity of busine . After it had been neglected for 16 years, two new magistrates called censors were elected. They remained in office for five years, and every fifth year they made a census of all the citizens in the Campus Martius, and offered a solemn sacrifice, and made a lustration in the name of all the Roman people. This space of time was called a lustrum , and 10 or 20 years were commonly expre ed by two or four lustra. After the office of the censors had remained for some time unaltered, the Romans, jealous of their power, abridged the duration of their office, and a law was made, A.U.C. 420, by Mamercus Æmilius, to limit the time of the censorship to 18 months. After the second Punic war, they were always chosen from such persons as had been consuls; their office was more honourable, though le powerful, than that of the consuls; the badges of their office were the same, but the censors were not allowed to have lictors to walk before them as the consuls. When one of the censors died, no one was elected in his room till the five years were expired, and his colleague immediately resigned. This circumstance originated from the death of a censor before the sacking of Rome by Brennus, and was ever deemed an unfortunate event to the republic. The emperors abolished the censors, and took upon themselves to execute their office.