CURIOSUS, an officer of the Roman empire during the middle age, appointed to take care that no frauds and irregularities were committed; particularly no abuses in what related to the posts, the roads, &c. and to give intelligence to the court of what passed in the provinces. This made the curios people of importance, and put them in a condition of doing more harm than they prevented; on which account, Honorius cashiered them, at least in some parts of the empire, anno 415.
The curios came pretty near to what we call con-
trollers. They had their name from cura, "care;" quod curis agendis & evolutibus cursus publici inspicienda operam darent.