Carthago delenda est

Marcus Porcius Cato Maior, "Cato the Elder"

Carthago delenda est (English: "Carthage must be destroyed") or the fuller Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam or also Ceterum autem censeo, Carthaginem esse delendam (English: "Furthermore, I think Carthage must be destroyed") are Latin phrases, clarion calls in the Roman Republic which came in the latter years of the Punic Wars.

Although no ancient source gives the phrase exactly as it is usually quoted in modern times (either Carthago delenda est or the fuller Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam), something like this wording can be inferred from several ancient sources, which state that the Roman statesman Cato the Elder would always end his speeches with some variation of this expression even if he had not been discussing Carthage in the speech. Thus, it can also be used to refer to a tenacious, repetitive insistence on something.

The location of Carthage in North Africa

Although the Romans were successful in the first two Punic Wars, as they vied for dominance with the seafaring Phoenician city-state of Carthage in North Africa (modern day Tunisia), they did suffer a number of humiliations and damaging reverses. This built into an attitude of seeking vengeance and total victory that was expressed with these phrases.

The attitude of total warfare toward Carthage resulted in the utter destruction of the city at the end of the Third Punic War. The city was ploughed over and surviving inhabitants sold into slavery. Historians dispute whether the fields were sown with salt, but the very notion is indicative of the vengeance wrought.

The term is sometimes adapted in modern usage, in a learned reference to total warfare, and has been used as the title for Alan Wilkins' 2007 play on the Third Punic War. Another modern use of 'Ceterum censeo …' is, similar to Cato's repetitive insistence, creating a reference to a strongly held conviction to be right about a topic, like Cato the Elder was right about Carthage to be destroyed.

Grammatically, it expresses necessity by using a gerundive with a form of the verb esse, "to be". The fuller form Ceterum censeo … uses the so-called accusative and infinitive for the indirect statement. This construction in Latin is known as the passive periphrastic (and indeed, Carthago delenda est is often provided as an example of such a periphrastic).