§10.1Sic conservatis suis rebus omnibus Poenus illusis Cretensibus ad Prusiam in Pontum pervenit.
Having thus preserved all his property, the Carthaginian, having deceived the Cretans, arrived at the court of Prusias in Pontus.
apud quem eodem animo fuit erga Italiam neque aliud quicquam egit quam regem armavit et exacuit adversus Romanos.
With him, he was of the same mind toward Italy, and did nothing else than arm and excite the king against the Romans.
§10.2quem cum videret domesticis opibus minus esse robustum, conciliabat ceteros reges, adiungebat bellicosas nationes.
When he saw that the king was less strong in his domestic resources, he won over other kings and allied himself with warlike nations.
dissidebat ab eo Pergamenus rex Eumenes, Romanis amicissimus, bellumque inter eos gerebatur et mari et terra; §10.3sed utrobique Eumenes plus valebat propter Romanorum societatem.
Eumenes, the king of Pergamum, a very close friend of the Romans, was at variance with him, and war was being waged between them both by land and by sea; but in both places Eumenes was more powerful on account of his alliance with the Romans.
quo magis cupiebat eum Hannibal opprimi, quem si removisset, faciliora sibi cetera fore arbitrabatur.
For this reason, Hannibal desired all the more that he should be crushed, thinking that if he removed him, everything else would be easier for himself.
ad hunc interficiundum talem iniit rationem.
To kill him, he adopted the following plan.
§10.4classe paucis diebus erant decreturi.
They were about to decide the contest with their fleets in a few days.
superabatur navium multitudine: dolo erat pugnandum, cum par non esset armis.
Since he was surpassed in the number of his ships, he had to fight by stratagem, since he was not an equal match in arms.
imperavit quam plurimas venenatas serpentes vivas colligi easque in vasa fictilia conici.
He ordered as many live venomous snakes as possible to be collected and cast into earthen vessels.
§10.5harum cum effecisset magnam multitudinem, die ipso, quo facturus erat navale proelium, classiarios convocat iisque praecipit, omnes ut in unam Eumenis regis concurrant navem, a ceteris tantum satis habeant se defendere.
When he had secured a great number of these, on the very day on which he was about to engage in the naval battle, he called the mariners together and instructed them that they should all attack the single ship of King Eumenes, and content themselves with merely defending themselves against the rest.
id illos facile serpentium multitudine consecuturos.
He assured them that they would easily accomplish this by means of the multitude of snakes.
§10.6rex autem in qua nave veheretur, ut scirent, se facturum: quem si aut cepissent aut interfecissent, magno iis pollicetur praemio fore.
Furthermore, he said that he would manage so that they should know in which ship the king was sailing; and he promised them that it would be a great reward for them if they either captured or killed him.