fiscus

fiscus, i, m., a basket or frail woven of slender twigs, rushes, etc. (like fiscina, fiscella, q. v.); used,

I.

For olives in the oilpress, Col. 12, 52, 22; 54, 2.—Far more freq.,

II.

For keeping money in, a money-basket, or, as we say, a money-bag, purse (cf. aerarium):

fiscos complures cum pecunia Siciliensi a quodam senatore ad equitem Romanum esse translatos,

Cic. Verr. 1, 8, 22:

mulus ferebat fiscos cum pecunia,

Phaedr. 2, 7, 2; Suet. Claud. 18.— Poet.:

aerata multus in arca Fiscus,

i. e. much money, Juv. 14, 259.—

B.

In partic.

1.

The public chest, state treasury, public revenues:

quaternos HS, quos mihi senatus decrevit et ex aerario dedit, ego habebo et in cistam transferam de fisco,

Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 85, § 197:

qui fiscum sustulit,

id. ib. 79, §

183: de fisco quid egerit Scipio, quaeram,

id. Q. Fr. 3, 4, 5 Manut.; Eutr. 2, 16; Vulg. 1 Esdr. 7, 20. —

2.

In the times of the emperors, the imperial treasury, imperial revenues, emperor's privy purse (opp. aerarium, the public chest or treasury):

quantum pecuniae in aerario et fiscis et vectigalibus residuis,

Suet. Aug. 101; 40; id. Claud. 28; id. Ner. 32; Sen. Ben. 7, 6:

fisci de imperatore rapti,

Tac. A. 1, 37:

bona in fiscum cogere,

id. ib. 6, 2; Dig. 39, 4, 9 fin.:

fortasse non eadem severitate fiscum quam aerarium cohibes,

Plin. Pan. 36 et saep.:

Judaicus,

the tax paid by the Jews into the imperial treasury, Suet. Dom. 12:

quidquid conspicuum pulchrumque est aequore toto res fisci est,

Juv. 4, 55.