There were two Censors, chosen from Ex-Consuls, and they held office for eighteen months. They were elected once every five years, this period being called a _lustrum_. They ranked as higher magistrates without possessing the _imperium_. Their duties were:
(1) To take the census, i.e. register the citizens and their amount of property, and to fill all vacancies in the Senate. (2) To have a general oversight of the finances, like our Secretary of the Treasury; to contract for the erecting of public buildings, and for the making or repairing of public roads, sewers, etc.; to let out the privilege of collecting the taxes, for five years, to the highest bidder.(Footnote: In the intervals of the censorship, the duties under (2) fell to the Aediles. ) (3) To punish gross immorality by removal of the guilty parties from the Senate, the Equites, or the tribe.
In cases of great danger the Senate called upon the Consuls to appoint a Dictator, who should possess supreme power, but whose tenure of office could never exceed six months. In later times Dictators were not appointed, but Consuls were invested with the authority if it was thought necessary. Sulla and Caesar, however, revived the office, but changed its tenure, the latter holding it for life.
This was an officer appointed by the Dictator, to stand next in authority to him, and act as a sort of Vice-Dictator.
The priests formed a body (_collegium_) of fifteen members, at the head of whom was the Pontifex Maximus (high priest). Their tenure of office was for life, and they were responsible to no one in the discharge of their duties. Their influence was necessarily very great.
This was a power to command the armies, and to exercise judicial functions conferred upon a magistrate (Dictator, Consul, or Praetor) by a special law passed by the Comitia Curiáta. The _Imperium_ could be exercised only outside of the city walls (_pomoerium_), except by special permission of the Senate for the purpose of celebrating a triumph. The one receiving the _Imperium_ was called IMPERATOR.
This was the power, in general, which _all_ magistrates possessed.
CHAPTER XLVI. HOUSES, CUSTOMS, INSTITUTIONS, ETC.
The private houses of the Romans were poor affairs until after the conquest of the East, when money began to pour into the city. Many houses of immense size were then erected, adorned with columns, paintings, statues, and costly works of art. Some of these houses are said to have cost as much as two million dollars.