[2] He was then elected to the consulship in 123 BC, serving alongside Titus Quinctius Flamininus.
[3] His campaign continued into 122 BC, and when his consulship ended, he was granted a proconsular command.
[4] By 121 BC, he had defeated the pirates and conquered Mallorca and Menorca, the Balearics,[5] for which he earned his cognomen Balearicus and the honours of a Triumph.
[6] In the aftermath of the victory, he established at Palma and Pollentia two colonies of 3,000 Romans from Iberia.
In 120 BC, he was appointed Censor, during which time he and his censorial colleague probably reappointed Publius Cornelius Lentulus as Princeps senatus.