ECDĬCUS (ἔκδικος), the name of an officer in many of the towns of Asia Minor during the Roman dominion, whose principal duty was the care of the public money, and the prosecution of all parties who owed money to the state. ECMARTȲRĬA (ἐκμαρτυρία), signifies the deposition of a witness at Athens, who, by reason of absence abroad, or illness, was unable to attend in court. His statement was taken down in writing, in the presence of persons expressly appointed to receive it, and afterwards, upon their swearing to its identity, was read as evidence in the cause. ĒDICTUM. The _Jus Edicendi_, or power of making edicts, belonged to the higher _magistratus populi Romani_, but it was principally exercised by the two praetors, the praetor urbanus, and the praetor peregrinus, whose jurisdiction was exercised in the provinces by the praeses. The curule aediles likewise made many edicts; and tribunes, censors, and pontifices also promulgated edicts relating to the matters of their respective jurisdictions. The edicta were among the sources of Roman law. The edictum may be described generally as a rule promulgated by a magistratus on entering on his office, which was done by writing it on an album and exhibiting it in a conspicuous place. As the office of a magistratus was annual, the rules promulgated by a predecessor were not binding on a successor, but he might confirm or adopt the rules of his predecessor, and introduce them into his own edict, and hence such adopted rules were called _edictum ralatitium_, or _vetus_, as opposed to _edictum novum_. A _repentinum edictum_ was that rule which was made (_prout res incidit_) for the occasion. A _perpetuum edictum_ was that rule which was made by the magistratus on entering upon office, and which was intended to apply to all cases to which it was applicable during the year of his office: hence it was sometimes called also _annua lex_. Until it became the practice for magistratus to adopt the edicta of their predecessors, the edicta could not form a body of permanent binding rules; but when this practice became common, the edicta (_edictum tralatitium_) soon constituted a large body of law, which was practically of as much importance as any other part of the law. EICOSTĒ (εἰκοστή), a tax or duty of one-twentieth (five per cent.) upon all commodities exported or imported by sea in the states of the allies subject to Athens. This tax was first imposed B.C. 413, in the place of the direct tribute which had up to this time been paid by the subject allies; and the change was made with the hope of raising a greater revenue. This tax, like all others, was farmed, and the farmers of it were called εἰκοστολόγοι.