Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/484

* CENSER. 414 CENSORSHIP. from incensiim, incense, from incendere, to burn, from in, in + ceiidere, to burn ) . A vessel for burninsj perfumes (see Incense), also called 'thiirible,' from ihiis, frankincense. It is tossed in the air ceremoniall.v during public worship to diffuse the perfume of the incense. Cen- sers were used from very early times in the Jew- ish services, and have been all along cmphiyed in those of the Roman Catholic and East- riii cluirclies: also I if recent years in t he Episcopal Church. little is known of their precise shape be- cEs.Ei. f"'"- *'"' Twelfth Century, at which time they were richly decorated, and sometimes made in the form of small churches, as e.g. those in the cathedrals of Treves and Xannir. They were also often shaped like a ball, with two hol- low halves. In later specimens the upper half varies very mucli in form, being often surmounted by a turret. The lower half, resting on a foot, liolds the charcoal and the incense, while the upper one is perforated to allow the smoke to escape, and moves up and down on three or four chains. CEN'SO, ,S/). pron. than'so. In Spanish law, an annual payment, in money or in produce, charged upon land for an indeterminate period. The Spanish civil code of 18811 (in force in Cuba. Porto Kicii, aiul the Philip])ines) recognizes and regulates three classes of ceiiso. Cciiso enfiteutico is the ground-rent ])aid by the holder of a per- petual lease. (See Empiiytki'sis.) Ccii.so rescr- vatiro is an annual pa.^^nent reserved by the con- veyor of land and made a perpetiuil charge upon the land convoyed. Ceiiso coiixii/nntii'o is an an- nual payment which the owiu'r of land, in con- sideration of a capital sum paid him. has placed as a perpetual charge u]ion his land. In the first of these cases the recipient of tlic annual payment is titular owner (dueiio dirccto). In the second and third cases he is not owner, but a creditor of the land; his claim runs against every person who takes the land by purchase, devise, or in- heritance, and it is a lien upon the land. In all cases the censo may be redeemed (i.e. the land may lie freed from the annual charge) by pay- ment of the corresponding capital. In cases where this capital or redemption value is not indicated in the contract, it is estimated at the ratio of 100 to a. The right of redemption may. however, be suspended by contract in the ease of the purchased rent-charge {cenxo consifjnatiro) for twenty years, and in the other cases for sixty years. CENSOR (T,at., judge, from ceiisere. to assess, judge). The name of two Roman officers of State. The office was established by Servius Tullius, the fifth King of Rome. After the ex- ])u!?iion of the kings, it was held by the consuls, special magistrates not lacing appointed till c.c. 443. It continued to be filled by [latricians till B.C. 351, when Censor Marcius Rutilus, a plebeian, was elected. Twelve years later it was enacted that one of the censors (there were always two) must be a plebeian. In n.c. 131 both censors, for the first time, were i)lcbcians. The censors were elected in the coiiiitia cnititridhi. presided over by a consul. The term of ollice at first lasted five years, but was shortly afterwards limited to eighteen months. The censorship was regarded as the liigliest dignity in the State, except the dictatorship. It was a sacred and irresponsible magistracy, whose powers were vast and unde- fined, and whose decisions were received with solenui reverence. 'Ilie duties of the censors were tlireelold: (1) The taking of the census, or register of the citizens and of their property ; (2) the re(/i»ic)i morion (regulation of morals) ; (3) the administration of the finances of the State. The taking of the census was originally their sole function (hence their name), and was held in the Campus Martins, in a building called villa iiublica. The refiimcii moriim was the most dieadeii and absolute of their powers. It grew naturally out of (he exercise of the previous duty, wliieh ciimpelled tlicm to exclude unwortliy persons from the lists of citizens. Gradually the superintendence of the censors extended from the public to the private life of citizens. They could inllict disgrace {i(/noniinia) on any one whose conduct did not square with their notions of rectitude or duty. For instance, if a man neglected the cultivation of his fields, or carried on a disreputable trade, or refused to marry, or treated his family either too kindly or too harsh- ly, or was extravagant, or guilty of bribery, cowardice, or the like, he might be degraded. The administration of the finances of the State included the regulation of the tribtitiim, or prop- erty-lax: of the reclifinlia, such as the tithes paid for the public lands, salt-works, mines, customs, etc., which were usually leased out to speculators for five years; the preparation of the State budget, etc. CEN'SORI'NUS, A chronologist and gram- marian 111 the Third Century A.U., known by a work called Dc Die al (il a censor (q.v. ). The term in its broadest application includes the general super- vision and control of public morals and the pub- lic welfare, such as was exercised by the Roman censors. The term is now, however, almost ex- clusively applied to the examination of manu- .scripts, writings, and literary productions of all kinds as a condition of their publication, with the suppression of part or all, as may seem neces- sary to the censor or licensor, for the protection of public morals or the integrity of the govern- ment. The censorship of public morals, as such, does not now exist among civilized races in the form in which it was exercised by the Roman censors; but a supervision over the personal af fairs and privat.e conduct of the public is exer- cised, under various designations, in some of the