in Roman antiquity, an authentic declaration made before the centors, by the several subjects of the empire, of their respective names and places of abode. This declaration was registered by the centors; and contained an enumeration, in writing, of all the estates, lands, and inheritances they possessed; their quantity, quality, place, wives, children, domestics, tenants, slaves. In the provinces the census served not only to discover the substance of each person, but where, and in what manner and proportion, taxes might be imposed. The census at Rome is commonly thought to have been held every five years; but Dr Middleton hath shewn, that both census and lustrum were held irregularly and uncertainly at various intervals. The census was an excellent expedient for discovering the strength of the state: for by it they discovered the number of the citizens, how many were fit for war, and how many for offices of other kinds; how much each was able to pay of taxes, &c. It went through all ranks of people, though under different names: that of the common people was called census; that of the knights, cenfus, recensio, recognitio; that of the senators, lection, relatio.

The census which intitled one to the dignity of a knight, was 400,000 sesterces: that of a senator, was double that sum.

In the Voconian law, census is used for a man whose estate in the censor's books is valued at 100,000 sesterces.