[Sidenote:  B.C. 264 (a.u. 490)] 3. ¶Gaius Claudius came to the meeting, and among other remarks which he made to tempt them declared that the object of his presence was to free the city, since the Romans had no need of Messana; and that he would immediately sail away, as soon as he should set their affairs in order.  Next he bade the Carthaginians also either to withdraw, or, if they had any just plea to offer, to submit to arbitration.  Now when not one of the Mamertines (by reason of fear) opened his lips, and the Carthaginians since they were occupying the city by force of arms paid little heed to him, he stated that the silence on both sides afforded sufficient evidence:  on the part of the invaders it showed that they were in the wrong, for they would have justified themselves if their purposes were at all honest, and on the part of the Mamertines that they desired freedom; they might have been quite free to speak, had they espoused the cause of the Carthaginians, especially as there was a force of the latter present.  Furthermore he promised that he would aid them, both on account of their Italian origin and on account of the request for assistance they had made. (Mai, p.179.  Zonaras, 8,8.)

4. ¶Gaius Claudius lost some of the triremes and with difficulty reached safety.  Neither he nor the Romans in the City, however, were prevented from renewing attempts by sea through the fact that they had been worsted when first making a trial of it, although this is the ordinary course that people pursue who fail in the first undertaking and think that they can never again succeed, viewing the past in the light of an omen.  On the contrary, they applied themselves to the watery element with an even greater zeal, and chiefly because they were ambitious and did not wish to appear to have been diverted from their purpose by the disaster. (Mai, p.180.  Zonaras 8, 8, sq.) 5. ¶Hanno, who was in no wise disposed to make light of the war in case it were bound to occur, was particularly anxious to throw the responsibility for breaking the truce upon the other man, for fear it might be thought that he himself was taking the initiative.  Accordingly, he sent back to him the ships and the captives, while he urged him to accept peace and exhorted him besides not to meddle with the sea. (Mai, p.180.  Zonaras, 8, 9.)

6. ¶When he would accept nothing, he launched at him an arrogant and reprehensible threat.  For he declared that he would never allow the Romans even to wash their hands in the sea:  yet he lost not only the sea but also Messana not much later. (Mai, p.180.  Zonaras, 8, 9.)

7. ¶Claudius, finding the Mamertines gathered at the harbor, called an assembly of their number and made the statement:  “I have no need of arms but will leave it with you to decide everything.”  By this means he persuaded them to send for Hanno.  As the latter refused to come down, he chid him soundly, inveighing against him and declaring that if he had even the slightest justification, he would certainly hold a conference with him and not persist in occupying the city by force. (Mai, p.180.  Zonaras, 8, 9.)