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 curious 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 curious came pretty near to what we call controllers. They had their name from cura, "care;" quod curis agendis et evocitionibus cursus publici inspiciendi operam darent.