CUR 
49 0 
■endure for ever, provided that was thrown into the gulf 
in which the Romans were moll powerful. During the 
confultation about the fenfe of this refponfe, Curtins 
afofe, and afked, if the Romans poffeffed any thing fo 
valuable as their arms and courage? Silence enfuing, 
Curtins turned his eyes towards the capitol and the tem¬ 
ples of the gods overlooking the forum, and firetching 
his hands firft towards heaven, and next towards the 
bottom of the gulf, folentnly devoted himfelf. He then, 
fully armed, mounted his horfe decorated in all his ca- 
parifons, and plunged into the chafrn; the applauding 
people of both fexes throwing after them flowers and 
fruits.” It is difficult to fay what foundation there may 
be for this dory, the date of which is within the period 
of tolerably authentic hiflory. The tradition of it was 
Certainly univerfal among the Romans, and a lake or pool 
retained the name of the Curtian. But fome have affirmed 
that this name was much more ancient, and was derived 
from Mutius Curtius, a diflinguilhed Sabine chief, who, 
in a battle with Romulus, leaped on horfeback into a 
deep muddy pool, and was taken out alive. Livy ob- 
ferves, that at his time it was impoflible to invedigate 
the truth of thefe relations ; “ but,” fays he, “ when 
antiquity precludes certainty, we fliould adhere to com¬ 
mon tradition, and the latter derivation of the Curtian 
lake is the more celebrated dory.” 
CUR'TIUS RU'FUS (Qmntus), a Latin hiftorian 
of Alexander the Great, only known by his work. Dif¬ 
ferent opinions have been maintained concerning the age 
wherein he lived, which have fcarcely any thing for their 
foundation but the purity of his ffyle, which denotes one 
of tire bed periods of the Latin language, and a pafrage 
in his tenth book, alluding to the circumdances of the 
exilfing time: this paffage lias been fuppofed to fuit the 
reign of Augufius, of Claudius, of Vefpafian, and of Tra¬ 
jan ; and fpecious arguments have been brought for each 
of thefe interpretations. In faff, its figurative language, 
and the laxity in which a piece of adulation is to be under- 
flood, preclude all exaftnefs of application; the greater 
.number of critics, however, concur in referring it to the 
commencement of Vefpafian’s reign. With refpeft to 
the perfon of Curtius, it is extremely unlikely that the 
hidorian fliould have been the Curtius Rufus proconful 
of Africa under Tiberius ; and he may with much more 
probability be fuppofed the Qjuntus Curtius Rufus enu¬ 
merated by Suetonius under the eminent rhetoricians. 
It is certain that his matter has in it much more of the 
rhetorician than of the foldier or politician.' His work, 
De Rebus GeJUs Alexandri Magni, was written-in ten books, 
of which the two fird are lod. It is undoubtedly the 
mod entertaining account we poffefs of the aftions of 
Alexander, but at the fame time the lead to be depended 
upon. The writer’s midakes in geography and hidory, 
his confufed narration of military tranfaftions, his florid 
and marvellous defcriptions, and oratorical fpeeches, de¬ 
note an author by profeffion, felefting a fplendid topic, 
but one to which his information and love of truth were 
not equal. It is remarkable, that neither Quintilian, 
nor any writer before the twelfth century, makes men¬ 
tion of this work. The bed editions of Quintus Curtius 
are, the Elzevir of 1633; the Delphin, Par. 1678, 4to. 
the Variorum, Amd. 1708, 2 vols. 8vo. Delph. 1724, 2 
vols. 4to. and Barbou’s, Par. 1756. Freinflieim has given 
fupplements of the lod books. 
CUR'TIUS (Cornelius), a learned and pious monk, 
of the Augudine order, born at Bruflels, where he died 
in 1633, aged forty-feven years. Befides Poematum, li- 
bri iii. he was the author of Elogia virorum illujlrorum Or- 
dinis Sancli Augujlini, See. the number of whom would 
not have been confiderable, if he had confined himfelf to 
thofe who judly merited the charafter in his title page. 
He alfo wrote different treadles in theological-antiquarian 
lore ; and, among others, the differtation DeClavisDominicis. 
CURTOLO'NE, a town of Italy, in the duchy of 
Maatuii: four miles wed of Mantua, 
CUR 
CURUA'NG,yi An indian gum, gathered from a tree 
indigenous to the ifland of Mindanao. 
CUR'VAT, a town of France., in the department of 
the Tarn : four leagues ead of Alby. 
CUR'VATED, adj. \_curvatus , Lat.] Bent; crooked. 
CURVA'TION,y. [ curvo, Lat.] The aft of bending 
or crooking. 
CUR'VATURE,/ Crookednefs; infl exion; manner 
of bending, by which a line becomes a curve cf any par¬ 
ticular form or property.—It is bent after the manner of 
the catenarian curve, by which it obtains that curvature 
that is fafed for the included marrow. Cheyne. —Flaccid 
it was beyond the aftivity of the mufcle, and curvature 
of the odicles, to give it a due tenfion. Holder. 
CURVE, adj. {_curvus, Lat.] Crooked; bent; infleft- 
ed ; not draight.—Unlefs an intrinfic principle of gravity 
or attraction may make it deferibe a curve line about the 
attrafting body. Bentley. 
CURVE, J'. Any thing bent; a flexure or crooked* 
nefs of any particular form : 
And as you lead it round, in artful curve, 
With eye intentive mark the fpinging game. Thomfon. 
The doctrine of curves, and of the figures and folids ge¬ 
nerated from them, conflitute what is called the higher 
geometry. Seeourarticles Algebra, Conic Sections, 
Fluxions, Geometry, &c. 
D CURVE, r. a. \_curvo, Lat.] To bend; to crook; 
to infleft.—And the tongue is drawn back and curved , 
Holder. 
To CURVET', v. n. \_corvettare, Ital.] To leap; to 
bound; tofrilk; to be licentious..—Cry holla! to thy 
tongue, I pr’ythee : it curvets unfeafonably. Shakefpeare. 
Seiz’d with unwonted pain, furpriz’d with fright. 
The wounded deed curvets-, and, rais’d upright. 
Lights on his feet before : his hoofs behind 
Spring up in air aloft, and lalh the wind. Dryden. 
CURVET',yi A leap ; abound; a frolic. A prank, 
CURVII.I'NEAR, adj. \_curvus and linea, Lat.] Con¬ 
fiding of a crooked line.—The impulfe continually draws 
the celedial body from its rectilinear motion, and forces 
it into a curvilinear orbit; fo that it mud be repeated 
every minute of time. Cheyne. —Compofed of crooked 
lines. 
CUR'VITY, f. Crookednefs.—The joined ends of 
that bone and the incus receding, make a more acute 
angle at that joint, and give a greater curvity to the pof- 
ture of the odicles. Holder. 
CU'RULE,/ A date officer of ancient Rome, who had 
the privilege of fitting in an ivory chair in public alfem- 
blies. The didtator, the confuls, the cenfors, the prae¬ 
tors, and ediles, claimed that privilege, and therefore 
were called curules magijlratus. The fenators who had 
paffed through the above-mentioned offices were gene¬ 
rally carried to the fenate-houfe in ivory chairs, as were 
all generals in their triumphant procefllon to the capitol. 
When names of didinftion began to be known among 
the Romans, the defeendants of curule magidrates were 
called nobles, the fird of a family who difeharged that of¬ 
fice were known by the name of noti, and thofe that had 
never been in office were called ignobiles. 
CURU'PA, a town of South America, in the country 
of Brafil, fituated on the fouth fide of the river of the 
Amazons ; built by the Dutch ; now in pofteffion of the 
Portuguefe. 
CURURU', f. in botany. See Paulltnia. 
CU'RUTU-PA'LA, f. See Tabern^emontana. 
CUR'ZOLA, or Corzola, or Corcyra, a fmall 
ifland of Dalmatia, in the gulf of Venice, ceded by Ra- 
gufa to the Venetians in 1386. It abounds in wood, 
which makes the fituation convenient for building (hips, 
and produces good wine. It contains one city, and feve- 
rafvillages: thirty miles long, and eight broad. Lat. 43. 
17. N. Ion. 34. 50. i£. Ferro. 
CUR'ZOLA 
