CENSORS, the name of two Roman officers of state. The office was established by Servius Tullius, the fifth king of Rome. After the expulsion of the kings, it was held by the consuls, special magistrates not being appointed till 443 B.C. It continued to be filled by patricians till 351 B.C., when C. 31arelos Rutilus, a plebeian, was elected. Twelve years later, it was enacted that one of the C. (there were always two) must be a plebeian. In 131 B.O., both C. for the first time were plebeians. The C. were elected in the comitia centuriata, presided over by a consul. The term of office at first lasted five years, but was shortly afterwards limited to 18 months. The censor ship was regarded as the highest dignity in the state, except the dictatorship. It was a sacred and irresponsible magistracy, whose powers were vast and undefined, and whose decisions were with solemn reverence. The duties of the C. were threefold. 1. The taking of the census, or register of the citizens and of their property. 2. The regimen morum (regulation of morals). 3. The administration of the finances of the state. The taking of the census (Lat. COMO, to value, to take an account of) was originally their sole function (hence their name), and was held in the campus martins, in a building called villa publica. The .regimen morum was the most dreaded and abso
lute of their powers. It grew naturally out of the exercise of the previous duty, which compelled them to exclude unworthy persons from the lists of citizens. Gradually, the superintendence of the C. extended from the public to the private life of citizens. They could inflict disgrace (ignominia) on any one whose conduct did not square with their notions of rectitude or duty. For instance, if a man neglected the cultivation of his fields, or carried on a disreputabletrade, or refused to marry, or treated his family either too kindly or too harshly, or was extravagant, or guilty of bribery. cowardice, etc., he might be degraded, according to his rank, or otherwise punished. The adminis trationof the finances of the date included the regulation of the tributum, or tax; of the vectigalia, such as the tithes paid for the public lands, salt-works, mines, cus toms, etc., which were usually leased out to speculators for five years; the preparation of the state budget, etc.—See Rovers, De Censorum apud 1?omanos Auetoritate et Eristi matio.n,e (Utrecht, 1825).