Curius, a renowned and highly disinterested Roman general, whose virtues render him more memorable than even his great military reputation, flourished 272 years B.C. He was thrice consul; he conquered the Samnites, Sabines, and Lucanians; and he gave each citizen forty acres of land, reserving no more for himself. The ambassadors of the Samnites, who paid him a visit, found Dentatus boiling turnips in a pipkin, and they hence inferred that he might be gained over to their interest by a bribe; but Dentatus told them that his design was not to grow rich, but to command those who were so. He defeated Pyrrhus near Tarentum, and received the honour of a triumph.