Roman censor
Ancient Rome
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The position of the censor (called censura)
was responsible for maintaining the census,
supervising public morality, and overseeing
certain aspects of the government’s finances.
The censors’ regulation of public morality
is the origin of the modern meaning of the
words "censor" and "censorship."
Creation of the rank
The census was first instituted by Servius
Tullius sixth king of Rome. After the expul-
sion of the kings and the founding of the Re-
public, the census was taken over by consuls
until 443 BC. In 442 BC, no consuls were
elected, but rather military tribunes with
consular power were appointed in their
stead; the plebeians were attempting to at-
tain higher magistracies (since only patri-
cians could be consuls, while some military
tribunes were plebeians). To stop the plebei-
ans from possibly gaining control of the
census, the patricians removed the consuls’ -
and consequently their representatives, the
tribunes- right to take the census, and en-
trusted it to two magistrates, called censores
(English censors), who were to be chosen ex-
clusively from