In 204 BC, as praetor, he was assigned to govern Sardinia, in which capacity he gathered and shipped supplies of grain and clothing for soldiers under the command of Scipio in Africa.
[1] Elected consul for 202 BC, he was assigned to Africa with imperium equal to that of Scipio,[2] but storms and delays in his preparations prevented him from ever arriving.
He was the last consul of the Claudii Nerones until his descendant (the future emperor) Tiberius was elected in 13 BC.
Livy says he was sent on an embassy with a Marcus Decimius to Asia and islands in the Aegean, including Rhodes and Crete, and travelled as far as Syria and Egypt.
[5] Polybius says he was accompanied by Postumius Albinus and a Marcus Junius Brutus, and describes their mission as urging the allies, particularly Rhodes, to join the Romans against Perseus.