Acts of attainder, divorce bills, &c., illustrate the case in
England; they are cases of law, modified to meet the case of an
individual; and the censor, having a sort of equity jurisdiction, was
intrusted with discretionary powers for reviewing, revising, and amending,
_pro re nata_, whatever in the private life of a Roman citizen seemed, to
his experienced eye, alien to the simplicity of an austere republic;
whatever seemed vicious or capable of becoming vicious, according to their
rude notions of political economy; and, generally, whatever touched the
interests of the commonwealth, though not falling within the general
province of legislation, either because it might appear undignified in its
circumstances, or too narrow in its range of operation for a public
anxiety, or because considerations of delicacy and prudence might render
it unfit for a public scrutiny. Take one case, drawn from actual
experience, as an illustration: A Roman nobleman, under one of the early
emperors, had thought fit, by way of increasing his income, to retire into
rural lodgings, or into some small villa, whilst his splendid mansion in
Rome was let to a rich tenant.
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