in Law, an authority given to a person to do some lawful act.

LICENSER OF BOOKS, has been an officer in almost every civilized country, till the close of the last century, when it was abolished in Great Britain. It has been proved by Beckmann, that such an office was established, not only in the Roman empire, but also in the republic and the states of Greece. All the copies of the works of Protagoras which could be procured, were burnt at Athens by the public crier, and the satirical works of Labienus shared the same fate under the reign of the emperor Augustus. Not long after the invention of printing, laws were enacted for subjecting books to examination; a regulation which was proposed even by Plato, and which many have since wished for. It appears that the liberty of the press is only a modern privilege, and that it has not been enjoyed in its utmost latitude in any country but Great Britain.