Census

In the beginning was the census. Every five years, each male Roman citizen had to register in Rome for the census. In this he had to declare his family, wife, children, slaves, and riches. Should he fail to do this, his possessions would be confiscated and he would be sold into slavery. But registration meant freedom. A master wishing to free his slave needed only to enter him in the censor's list as a citizen. To the Romans the census made them more than a mere crowd or barbarian rabble. It made them a populus, a people , capable of collective action. To the Romans the census was one of the foundation stones of their civilization.