who superintended disbursements of the public treasury

aerārĭus, a, um, adj. [aes].

That pertains to or is made of copper, bronze, etc.:

aerarium metallum,

a copper-mine, Vitr. 7, 9; Plin. 33, 5, 26, § 86;

fornaces,

smelting-furnaces, id. 11, 36, 42, § 119:

fabrica,

the preparation of copper, id. 7, 56, 57, § 197 faber, a coppersmith, id. 34, 8, 19, 6, § 61 (also aerarius alone; v. below).—

Of or pertaining to money:

propter aerariam rationem non satis erat in tabulis inspexisse quantum deberetur,

on account of the standard of coin, Cic. Quint. 4:

hinc dicuntur milites aerarii, ab aere quod stipendia facerent,

Varr. L. L. 5, § 181 Müll.: tribunus, who superintended disbursements of the public treasury: aerarii tribuni a tribuendo aere sunt appellati, Paul. ex Fest. p. 2 Müll.;

or, acc. to Varr.: ab eo, quibus attributa erat pecunia, ut militi reddant, tribuni aerarii dicti,

Varr. L. L. 5, § 181 Müll.; v. tribunus.—Hence, subst.: aerārĭus, i, m.

(Sc. faber.) One who works in copper, etc., a coppersmith:

in aerariorum officinis,

Plin. 16, 6, 8, § 23:

aerariorum marculi,

Mart. 12, 57, 6; so Inscr. Orell. 4140.—

(Sc. civis.) A citizen of the lowest class, who paid only a poll-tax (aera pendebat), and had no right of voting. Other citizens, upon the commission of great crimes, were degraded by the censors into this class, and deprived of all previous dignities. (Cf. Gell. 4, 12 and 29; Drak. ad Liv. 24, 18, 6;

Smith's Dict. Antiq., and Nieb. Röm. Gesch. 2, 63 and 452.) Referre aliquem in aerarios,

Cic. Clu. 43. eximere aliquem ex aerariis, id. de Or. 2, 66 ext.; Liv. 24, 18:

omnes, quos senatu moverunt, quibusque equos ademerunt (censores) aerarios fecerunt et tribu moverunt,

id. 42, 10 al. —

aerārĭa, ae, f.

(Sc. fodina, like argentaria and ferraria, Liv. 34, 21:

auraria,

Tac. A. 6, 19 al.) A mine:

multis locis apud eos (sc. Aquitanos) aerariae structuraeque sunt,

Caes. B. G. 3, 21 Herz. —

(Sc. officina.) A smelting or refining house, Varr. L. L. 8, 33.—

(Sc. fornax.) A smelting-furnace, Plin. 34, 13, 33, § 128.—

aerārĭum, i, n. (sc. stabulum), the place in the temple of Saturn at Rome, where the public treasure was kept, the treasury: to tamieion, to koinon: Aerarium sane populus Romanus in aede Saturni habuit, Paul. ex Fest. p. 2 Müll.; cf. Plin. Pan. 92:

referre pecuniam in aerarium,

Cic. Agr. 2, 27 (for which deferre is often used in Liv. q.v.):

dare alicui pecuniam ex aerario,

id. Verr. 2, 3, 70.—Also for the public treasure or finances:

C. Gracchus, cum largitiones maximas fecisset et effudisset aerarium,

Cic. Tusc. 3, 20, 48, Nep. Arist. 3, 1; id. Att. 8.—In the time of the emperors the aerarium (public treasure) was distinguished from fiscus (the wealth of the emperor):

bona Sejani ablata aerario, ut in fisco cogerentur,

Tac. A. 6, 2; Plin. Pan. 36, Suet. Vesp. 16;

v. fiscus. In the treasury the public archives were kept: factum senatus consultum, ne decreta patrum ante diem decimum ad aerarium deferrentur,

Tac. A. 3, 51; cf. id. ib. 13, 28; Suet. Aug. 94; id. Caes. 28;

and also the standards: signa ex aerario prompta,

Liv. 4, 22.—The Quaestores aerarii (under Augustus and his immediate successors the Praetores) presided over the aerarium, with whom the Tribuni aerarii were associated as assistants; cf.

Quaestor and Tribunus.—The aerarium contained also a fund, established after the invasion of Gaul, and augmented by the immense booty acquired in the wars with Carthage, Macedonia, Corinth, etc., as well as by the tribute of the manumissi, which could be used only in cases of extreme public necessity, hence with the epithet sanctius,

Caes. B. C. 1, 24:

aurum vicesimarium, quod in sanctiore aerario ad ultimos casus servaretur, promi placuit,

Liv. 27, 10; cf. Cic. Att. 7, 21; id. Verr. 2, 4, 63 (of the Syracusans). Hence trop., Quint. 10, 3, 3:

aerarium militare, destined by Aug. for defraying the expenses of war,

Tac. A. 1, 78; Suet. Aug. 49; Plin. Pan. 92, 1.