1When they had sailed out into open water, the Roman wanted to close and match strength at close quarters; 2the Carthaginian, on the other hand, sought to evade him, to conduct the affair by skill, not force, and to make it a contest of ships rather than of men or arms. 3For while they had a fleet amply furnished with seamen, they were short of soldiers, and wherever a ship had been grappled, a far from equal number of armed men fought from it. 4When this was noticed, their own numbers raised the spirits of the Romans, and their fewness lowered those of the enemy. 5At once seven Punic ships were surrounded, and the rest took to flight.
5On the captured ships there were seventeen hundred soldiers and sailors, among them three Carthaginian nobles. 6The Roman fleet returned to harbour unharmed, with only one ship holed, and even that one came back safe. 7After this battle, before those who were at Messana knew of it, the consul Tiberius Sempronius came to Messana. 8As he entered the strait, King Hiero led out a fleet, equipped and armed, to meet him, and crossing from the royal ship to the flagship he congratulated him on having arrived safe with his army and ships, and prayed for a prosperous and fortunate crossing into Sicily; then he set out the state of the island and the designs of the Carthaginians, and promised that with the same spirit with which he had helped the Roman people as a young man in the former war, he would help them as an old man; 10he would supply corn and clothing free of charge to the consul's legions and naval allies; 10great danger threatened Lilybaeum and the coastal cities, and to some a revolution would be welcome.
11For these reasons the consul thought he should make no delay in making for Lilybaeum with his fleet. 11The king and the royal fleet set out with him. 11As they sailed, they learned that there had been a battle at Lilybaeum and that the enemy's ships had been routed and captured.