Curtius

Curtĭus, a, the name of a Roman gens.

• I C. Curtius Postumus, a partisan of Caesar, Cic. Att. 9, 2, a, 3; id. Fam. 2, 16, 7; id. Q. Fr. 2, 5, 3.—
• II Q. Curtius Rufus, the historiographer of Alexander the Great, etc., Plin. Ep. 7, 27, 2; Tac. A. 11, 21.—
• III Curtius Nicia, of Cos, freedman of a Curtius, a friend of Pompey, Cic. Fam. 9, 10, 1 sq.; Suet. Gram. 14.—Hence,
• IV Adj.
• • A Lacus Curtius, a place in Rome named after a certain Curtius, Varr. L. L. 5, § 148 Müll.; Liv. 7, 6, 5; Verg. F. 6, 403; also called Lacus Curtii, Suet. Aug. 57; id. Galb. 20; Paul. ex Fest. p. 49, 8 Müll.—
  • B Curtius Fons, a fountain, forty Roman miles from Rome, whose waters were conducted thither by Caligula, a part of the Aqua Claudia (v. Claudius, II. B.), Plin. 36, 15, 24, § 122; Front. Aquaed. 13 sq.; Suet. Claud. 20; called also CVRTIA AQVA, Inscr. Orell. 55.

Curtius, a, um, Name einer röm. gens, aus der am bekanntesten: Curtius Mettius, ein vornehmer u. tapferer Sabiner, der sich bei der Vereinigung der Römer mit den Sabinern mit seinem ganzen Geschlechte in Rom niederließ, Liv. 1, 12 sq.; vgl. Liv. 7, 6, 5. – M. Curtius, ein mutiger röm. Jüngling, der sich in die wahrsch. durch ein Erdbeben entstandene Kluft stürzte, um die erzürnten Götter zu versöhnen, worauf sich die Kluft wieder schloß, Liv. 7, 6, 3 sq.: dah. Plur. Curtii, Männer wie Curtius, Augustin. de civ. dei 5, 14. – C. Curtius Postumus, von Cicero dem Cäsar zu einer Kriegstribunenstelle empfohlen, seit dem Ausbruche des Bürgerkriegs eifriger Cäsarianer, Cic. ad Q. fr. 2, 5, 3; ad Att. 9, 2. litt. a. § 3 u.a. – Curtius Montanus, s. 1. Montānus. – Curtius Nicia, geb. auf der Insel Kos, Freigelassener eines Curtius, Zeitgenosse des Pompejus u. mit diesem u. andern Vornehmen Roms befreundet, gelehrter Ausleger des Dichters Lucilius, Suet. gr. 14. Cic. ep. 9, 10, 1 sq. – Quintus Curtius Rufus, der Verf. der größtenteils noch erhaltenen Kriegsgeschichte über die Feldzüge Alexanders des Gr., lebte wahrscheinlich unter Klaudius; vgl. Teuffel Gesch. der röm. Literat.⁵ § 292. – Dav. Curtius lacus, ein in alter Zeit einen Teil des Forums bedeckender See, der von dem Opfertode eines Curtius (s. Liv. 7, 6, 5) den Namen erhielt. Mit der Zeit wurde er abgeleitet u. ausgefüllt, später aber senkte sich die Ausfüllung, u. es entstand ein Abgrund, in dessen Tiefe ein Opfer gestürzt wurde. Die Stelle, auf die der Name Curtius lacus überging, wurde mit einem Altar (wahrsch. eine Art bidental mit einer Öffnung in die Tiefe) bedeckt, s. bes. Varro LL. 5, 148 sqq. Liv. 7, 6. § 1 sqq. Ov. fast. 6, 403. Aur. Vict. de Caes. 6, 3 u. epit. 6. 4: Curtii lacus gen., Suet. Aug. 57, 1; Galb. 20, 2. Paul. ex Fest. 49, 8. Vgl. über den Curtius lacus u. die sich an ihn knüpfenden Sagen (ausführlich) Hülsen in Pauly-Wissowa Realenz. IV, 1892 f. – Curtius fons, vierzig Meilen von Rom, von Kaligula nach Rom geleitet, ein Teil der aqua Claudia, Plin. 36, 122. Frontin. aqu. 15 sq. Suet. Claud. 20, 1.

1 Curtĭus, (11) ĭī, m. , Romain légendaire : Liv. 7, 6, 3 || Curtius Montanus, orateur et poète : Tac. Ann. 16, 28 || Quinte-Curce [Quintus Curtius Rufus, historien latin].

Curtius , Georg

One of the most distinguished classicists and philologists of the present century, born at Lübeck, April 16th, 1820. He pursued his studies at Bonn and Berlin, teaching for a time at the latter place and at Dresden. In 1849, he was made Professor Extraordinarius of Classical Philology at Prague, becoming in 1851 Professor Ordinarius. From Prague he was called in 1854 to a like chair at Kiel, and in 1862 to Leipzig. He died August 12th, 1885.

Curtius was the last and one of the greatest of the “old school” of classical philologists, and formulated in their final expression their etymological views. He was also profoundly learned in Greek, and in this department wrote a number of standard works: the Griechische Schulgrammatik (1852), which reached its fifteenth (German) edition in 1882, and has been translated into English in Dr. W. Smith's series in England, and forms the basis of Prof. Hadley's Greek Grammar in this country; also his Erläuterungen to the foregoing (1863, 3d ed. 1875) Eng. trans. (1870); the Grundzüge der Griechischen Etymologie (1858; 5th ed. in collaboration with Windisch, 1879), translated into English by Wilkins and England (1875-76); and Das Verbum der Griechischen Sprache (1873-76)—a very elaborate piece of work—translated by Wilkins and England (1880). Besides these important publications, he also put forth a treatise De Nominum Graecorum Formatione (1842); Die Sprachvergleichung in ihrem Verhältniss zur klassischen Philologie (1845); Sprachvergleichende Beiträge zur griechischen und lateinischen Grammatik (1846); Philologie und Sprachwissenschaft (1862); Zur Chronologie der indo-germanischen Sprachforschung (1867; 2d ed. 1873); Zur Kritik der neuesten Sprachforschung (1885); and in conjunction with Brugmann, G. Meyer, Fick, Windisch, and others, Studien zur griech. und lat. Grammatik, 10 vols. (1868-77). The ninth volume of this series contains Brugmann's famous paper on the nasal sonant, with which began the aggressive propaganda of the new school against the theories of Curtius and his predecessors. The new theories form the subject of a vigorous attack by Curtius himself in the Kritik mentioned above, in which he maintains the principle of “sporadic change” in addition to invariable phonetic law and the influence of analogy. (See Philologia.) In 1878, Prof. Curtius founded with Lange, Ribbeck, and Lipsius the Leipziger Studien zur klassischen Philologie.

Curtius , Mettus

A Roman youth, who devoted himself, for his country, to the Manes, B.C. 362. According to the account given by Livy (vii. 6), the ground near the middle of the Forum, in consequence either of an earthquake or some other violent cause, sank down to an immense depth, forming a vast aperture; nor could the gulf be filled up by all the earth which could be thrown into it. At last the soothsayers declared that, if the Romans wished the commonwealth to be everlasting, they must devote to this chasm what constituted the principal strength of the Roman people. Curtius, on hearing the answer, demanded of his countrymen whether they possessed anything so valuable as their arms and courage. They yielded a silent assent to the question put them; whereupon, having arrayed himself in full armour and mounted his horse, Curtius plunged into the chasm, and the people threw after him their offerings and quantities of the fruits of the earth. Valerius Maximus (v. 6, 2) states that the earth closed immediately over him. Livy , however, speaks of a lake occupying the spot, called Lacus Curtius. In another part of his history (i. 13), he mentions this same lake as existing in the time of Romulus, and as having derived its name from Mettus Curtius, a Sabine in the army of Titus Tatius. In all probability it was of volcanic origin, since the early accounts speak of its great depth, and was not produced merely by the inundations of the Tiber. Tarquinius Priscus is said to have filled up this lake at the time that he drained the whole of this district and constructed the Cloaca Maxima. Possibly he may have been aided in this by a natural tunnel gradually formed through the basin of the lake itself.