lictor

noun

1. An officer in Ancient Rome, attendant on a consul or magistrate, who bore the fasces and was responsible for punishing criminals.

   “Hee brought-in likevvise the ancient cuſtome againe, that in vvhat moneth hee had not the Knitches of rods vvith Axes borne before him, a publique Officer called Accensvs ſhould huiſher him before, and the Serjeants or Lictours follovv after behinde.”

   “‘Beware the power of the mob, Caesar.’ Then, schooled in needful agility, he ran away before a lictor’s whip could reach him.”