Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/683

Rh CENSORINUS. tui Rocurlng certain immunities to the Jews. lie died in Asia in A. D. 2, when he was in attendance upon C. Caesar, the grandson of Augustus. His death was universally regretted : Velleius Patei> cuius calls him (ii. 102) " Vir demerendis homi- iiibus genitus." There are several interesting coins of the Marcia gens, bearing upon them the names of C. Censorinus and L. Censorinus ; but it is impossible to deter- mine to which of the preceding Ccnsorini they be- long. Five specimens of these coins are given bolow. The first three contain on the obverse the heads of Numa Pompilius and Ancus Marcius, the second and fourth kings of Rome, because the CENSORINUS. GU5 Marcia gens claimed to be descended from Ancus Marcius [Marcia Gkns], and the latter was sup- posed to be the grandson of Numa Pompilius. In these three coins Numa is represented with a beard, and Ancus without, probably to mark the relation between them of grandfather and grandson. The obverse of the first contains the inscription nvmar roMPiLL ANCL MARCi., and that of the second ^VMA. POMPiLL ANcvs. MARCI. The reverse of the first represents two arches, in one of which Victory sUinds on a pillar, and in the other is the prow of a vessel, with the moon above. The re- verse of the second contains two prows also with a figure of Victory ; and both coins seem to have re- ference to the harbour of Ostia, which was built by Ancus Marcius. The reverse of the third coin represents a desultor riding with two horses, as he was accustomed to leap from one to another in the public games, while they were at full g:illop, (Diet. ofArd. s.v. Desultor.) The fourth and fifth coins are of less importance : the fourth has on the ob- verse a youthful head, and on the reverse a horse at full gallop; the fifth has on the obverse the head of Apollo, and on the reverse, Silenus. (Eck- hel, v. p. 245, &c.) CENSORI'NUS (Jppius Claudius), is ranked by Trebellius Pollio among the thirty tyrants [comp. AuRKOLUs], although the number is com- plete without the addition of his name, and he be- longs not to the reign of Gallienus, but of Claudius Gothicus. Censorinus, having devoted his youth and manhood to a military career, attained to the highest dignities. He was twice consul, twice praefect of the praetorium, thrice praefect of the city, four times proconsul, and discharged at va- rious periods the duties of numerous inferior ap- pointments. Full of years, and disabled by an honourable wound received in the Persian war, under Valerian, he had retired to pass the evening of his days on his estate, when he was suddenly proclaimed emperor by a body of mutinous troops, and invested with the purple at Bologna, in A. D. 270. Having, however, displayed a determination to enforce strict discipline, he was forthwith put to death by the same soldiers who had raised him to a throne. If any genuine medals of this prince exist, which is very doubtful, they have never been described with sufficient accuracy to render them of any historical value, or even to enable us to de- termine whether the names Appius Claudius formed part of his designation. Birago, in his Numismata (Mediol. 1683), quotes a Greek coin supposed to indicate the third year of the reign of Censorinus ; but, since no account is given of the place where it was preserved, it was in all probability a forgery, especially as we have no reason to believe that the pretender maintained his authority beyond the space of a few days. Tillemont supposes, that the Victori- nus mentioned by the younger Victor as having as- sumed the purple under Claudius is the same person with our Censorinus. (Trebell. Pollio, Trig. Tyr. Til- lemont, Histoire des Empereurs, vol. p. 37.) [W.R.] CENSORI'NUS, the compiler of a treatise en- titled de Die Natali, which treats of the generation of man, of his natal hour, of the influence of the stars and genii upon his career, and discusses the various methods employed for the division and calculation of time, together with sundry topics connected with astronomy, mathematics, geography, and music. It aflFords much valuable infoniiation with regard to the various systems of ancient chro- nology, and is constantly referred to by those who have investigated these topics. The book is dedi- cated to a certain Q. Cerellius, whom the writer addresses as his patron and benefactor (c. 1 ), and was composed in the year a. d. 238, in the consul- ship of Ulpius and Pontianus (c. 21). Censorinus terms Rome the "communis patria" of himself and Cerellius (c. 16); and this fact, silong with those detailed above, comprise the whole knowledge we possess with regard to the work and its author. A fragment de Metris and lost tracts de Accerilibus and de Geomciria are ascribed, but upon no sure evidence, to this same Censorinus. Carrio, in liia