Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Accensus

Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon (Rich, 1849)

ACCENSUS. A civil officer attached to the service of several Roman magistrates, the consuls, praetors, and governors of provinces. (Varro, L. L. vii. 58. Liv. iii. 33.) He was generally the freedman of the person whom he served (Cic. ad Q. Fr. i. 1. 4.), and it was his duty to summon the people to the assemblies, to call the parties engaged in law-suits into court, and preserve order in it (Cic. l. c. 7.), and to proclaim the hour at sunrise, mid-day, and sunset. Plin. H. N. vii. 60.

2. The military ACCENSI were originally a body of supernumeraries enlisted for the purpose of supplying any vacancies which might occur in the legions by death or otherwise (Festus s. v. Adcensi), but subsequently they were formed into a separate corps, belonging to the levis armatura, or light-armed troops, amongst whom they occupied the lowest rank of all. They were selected from the fifth class of the Servian census (Liv. i. 43.), had no body armour nor weapons of attack, properly so called, but fought as they best could, with nothing but their fists and stones (pugnis et lapidibus depugnabant, Varro ap. Non. s. Decuriones, p. 520. Mercer), precisely as shown in the annexed figure (Accensus/2.1), which is copied from the Column of Trajan. On the battle-field they were posted in the rear of the whole army, being drawn up in the last line of all, behind the Rorarii, from whence they could be advanced to assist in desultory attacks as occasion required. Liv. viii. 8. and 10.

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  Accensus/2.1