(from censere to "see" or "perceive"), one of the prime magistrates in ancient Rome.—Their business was to register the effects of the Roman citizens, to impose taxes in proportion to what each man possessed, and to take cognizance or inspection of the manners of the citizens. In consequence of this last part of their office, they had a power to censure vice or immorality by inflicting some public mark of ignominy on the offender. They had even a power to create the princeps senatus, and to expel from the senate such as they deemed unworthy of that office. This power they sometimes exercised without sufficient grounds; and therefore a law was at length passed, that no senator should be degraded or disgraced in any manner, until he had been formally accused and found guilty by both the censors. It was also a part of the censorial jurisdiction, to fill up the vacancies in the senate, upon any remarkable deficiency in their number; to let out to farm all the lands, revenues, and customs, of the republic; and to contract with artificers for the charge of building and repairing all the public works and edifices both in Rome and the colonies of Italy. In all parts of their office, however, they were subject to the jurisdiction of the people; and an appeal always lay from the sentence of the censors to that of an assembly of the people.

The first two censors were created in the year of Rome 311, upon the senate's observing that the consuls were so much taken up with war, as not to have time to look into other matters. The office continued to the time of the emperors, who assumed the censorial power, calling themselves morum praefecti; though Vespasian and his sons took the title of censors. Decius attempted to restore the dignity to a particular magistrate. After this we hear no more of it, till Constantine's time, who made his brother censor, and he seems to have been the last that enjoyed the office.

The office of censor was so considerable, that for a long time none aspired to it till they had passed all the rest; so that it was thought surprising that Craufus should be admitted censor, without having been either consul or praetor. At first the censors enjoyed their dignity for five years, but in 420 the dictator Mamertinus made a law restraining it to a year and a half, which was afterwards observed very strictly. At first one of the censors was elected out of a patrician, and the other out of a plebeian family; and upon the death of either, the other was discharged from his office, and two new ones elected, but not till the next lustrum. In the year of Rome 622, both censors were chosen from among the plebeians; and after that time the office was shared between the senate and people.

—After their election in the Comitia Centuriata, the censors proceeded to the capitol, where they took an oath not to manage either by favour or disaffection, but to act equitably and impartially throughout the whole course of their administration.

The republic of Venice still has a censor of the manners of their people, whose office lasts six months.

CENSORS OF BOOKS, are a body of doctors or others established in divers countries, to examine all books before they go to the press, and to see they contain nothing contrary to faith and good manners.

At Paris, the faculty of theology claim this privilege, as granted to them by the pope; but, in 1624, new commissions of four doctors were created, by letters-patent, the sole censors of all books, and answerable for every thing contained therein.

In England, we had formerly an officer of this kind, under the title of licentiate of the press; but, since the revolution, our press has been laid under no such restraint.