Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

1196 VICUS. VILLA. -
11; comp. Plin. IH. N. xviii. 4; Liv. viii. 18). In the city. (Suet. Aug. 30.) In this division each
later times however viatores are only mentioned vicus consisted of one main street, including several
-vith such magistrates as had only potestas and not smaller by-streets; their number was 424, and
imperium, such as the tribunes of the people, the each was superintended by four officers, called vicocensors, and the aediles. They wvere, in short, the rmaistri, who had a sort of local police, and who,
attendants of all maoistrates who had the jus pren- according to the regulation of Augustus, were
dendi. (Gell. xiii. 12; Liv. ii. 56, xxx. 39, xxxix. every year chosen by lot from among the people
34; Lydus, de eglayist. i. 44.) How many via- who lived in the vicus. (Suet. I.c.; Dion Cass. Iv.
tores attended each of these magistrates is not 8.) On certain days, probably at the celebration
known; one of them is said to have had the right of the compitalia, they wore the praetexta, and
at the command of his magistrate to bind persons each of them was accompanied by two lictors.
(ligyre), whence lie was called lictor. (Gell. xii. 3.) (Dion Cass. 1. c.; Ascon. ad Cic. in Pison. p. 7. ed.
It is not improbable that the ancient writers some- Orelli.) These officers, however, were not a new
times confound viatores and lictores. (Sigonius, tle institution of Augustus, for they had existed during
Asnt. Jar. Civ. RomiZanoriums, ii. 15; Becker, leeandb. the time of the republic, and had had the same
d'er R;n. AlNHiell. vol. ii. pt. ii. p. 379.) [L. S.] functions as a police for the vici of the Servianl
VICA'RII SERVI. [SERvus, p. 1037, b.] division of the city. (Liv. xxxiv. 7; Festus, s. v.
VICA'JRIUS. [EXERCITIuS, p. 504, a.] MIagisetrare; comp. Sextus Rufus, Breviariuimn (le
VICE'SIMA, a tax of five per cent. Every Regio^nibus Urdis Roz2ae; and P. Victor, de RegiolRoman, when he manumitted a slave, had to pay nibu2s Ubis Rdmae.) [L. S.]
to the state a tax of one-twentieth of his value, VICUS. [UNIVERSITAS, p. 1216, a.]
wvhence the tax was called vicesiina 7eeaenmissionis. VI'GILES. [ExERCITUS, p. 510, a.]
This tax appears to have beens levied from the VIGI'L1AE. [CASTRA, p. 250, b.]
earliest times, and was not abolished when all VIGINTISEXVIRI were twenty-six magisother imposts were done away with in Rome and tratus minores, among whom were included the
Italy. (Liv. vii. 16, xxvii. 10; Cic. Ad Ati. ii. 16.) triumviri capitales, the triumviri monetales, the
Claracalla raised this tax to a deciilsa, that is, tel quatuorviri viarum curandarum for the city, the two
per cent., but Macrinus again reduced it to the old curatores viarum for the roads outside the city, the
standard. (Dion. Cass. lxxvii. 9, lxxviii. 12.) The decemviri litibus (stlilibus) judicandis, and the four
persons employed ill collecting it were called Vice- praefects who were sent into Campalia for the
simlalii. (Petron. Fraglm. Tragyur. 65; Orelli, In- purpose of administering justice there. Augustus
script. in. 3333, &c.) reduced the number of officers of this college to
A tax called vicesias liereditcztizu el legycalorum was twenty (vigintiviri), as the two curatores viarumn
introduced by Augustus (Leu Julia Vicesimaria)i: it for the roads outside the city and the four Campaconsisted of five per cent. which every Roman citizen nianr praefects were abolished. (Dion Cass. liv. 26.)
had to pay to the aerarium militare, upon any in- Down to the time of Augustus the sons of senators
Ileritailce or legacy left to him, with the exception had generally sought and obtained a place in tile
of such as were left to a citizen by his nearest re- college of the vigintisexviri, it being the first step
latives, and such as did not amount to above a cer- towards the higher offices of the republic; but in
taiur sum. (Dion Cuss. Iv. 25, lvi. 28; Plin. ]>anesg. A. D. 13 a senatusconsulturm was passed ordaining
37, &c.; Capitol. l. Anltonin. 11.) Peregrini and that only equites should be eligible to the college
Latini who had become Roman citizens had, in a of the vigintiviri. The consequence of this was
legal sense, no relative, and were therefore obliged that the viginltiviri had ino seats in the senate,
in all cases to pay the vicesima hereditatium. (Plin. unless they had held some other magistracy which
Paneg. 1. c.) As only citizens had to pay: this tax, conferred this right upon them. (Dion Cass. 1. c.)
Caracalla, in order to imake it more productive, The age at which a person might become a vigillgranted the franchise to all the subjects of the em- tivir appears to have been twenty. (Compare Dion
pire, and at the same time raised it to ten per cent. Cass. lx. 5; Tacit..Alnnl. iii. 29, with Lipsius'
(decimza), but Macrinus agailn reduced it to five note; Spart. Did. Julianz. 1.) Aln account of the
(Dion. Cass. lxxvii. 9, lxxviii. 12), and at last it magistrates forming this college ihas been given it
was abolished entirely. It was levied ill Italy and separate articles. [L. S.]
the provinces by procuratores appointed for the VIGINTIVIRI. [VIGINTISEXVIRI.]
purpose, and who are mentioned il many inscrip- VILLA, a farm or countrr-house.'The Roman
tions as PROCURATOiRES XX HERED.ITATIUM, or writers mention two kinds of villa, the villa'zstaicas
AD VECTIGAL XX HIERaDIT. But these officers or farm-house, and the villa urbana or?)sezdrogenerally sold it for a round slim to the publicaini, urbana, a residence in the country or in the suburbs
which the latter had to piay in to the praefects of of a town. Whesn both of these were attached to
the aerarini militare. (Plin. E]pist. vii. ]4, Paneg. an estate, they were generally united ill the stame
37.) [L. S.] range of buildings, but sometimes they were placed
VICOMAGISTRI. [VIcus.] at different parts of the estate. The part of the
VI'CTIMA. [SACRIFICIUMi.] villa r-ustica, in which the produce of tile fairm was
VICTOR1IA'TUS. [DENARIUS.] kept, is distinguished by Columella by a separate
VICUS is the namne of the subdivisions into name, villa fSucluaria.
which the four regions occupied by the four city 1. The villa'lustica is described by Varro (R. 7I.
tribes of Servius Tullitus were divided, while the i. ]l, 13), Vitruvius (vi. 9), and Colunlella (i. 4.
cotuntry regions, according to an institution ascribed ~ 5).
to Numa, were subdivided into Pagi. (Dionys. ii. The villa, which must be of size corresponding
76.) This division, together with that of the four to that of the farm, is best placed at the foot of a
regions of the four city tribes, remained down to wooded mountain, ill a spot suppliedl with rullninrg
the time of Augustus, who made the vici subdivi- water, and not exposed to severe vwinds nlor to the
sionis of the fourteen regions into which he divided e fituria of marshes, ilor (by being close to a putlbic