CURTIUS, MARCUS, a Roman youth, who devoted himself to the gods manes for the safety of his country, about 360 years before the Augustan age. A wide gap had suddenly opened in the forum, and the oracle had said that it never would close before Rome threw into it whatever it had most precious. Curtius immediately perceived that no less than a human sacrifice was required. He armed himself, mounted his horse, and solemnly threw himself into the gulf, which instantly closed over his head.