They don’t know that Carthage must be destroyed.
Yes we do. You say it at the end of every senate meeting.
Gorgocutie’s Verdict:
Cato the Elder (234-149 BCE) was a Roman senator famous for his conservative values, his hatred of Greek influence, and his absolute obsession with destroying Carthage. After visiting Carthage and seeing it thriving again after the Second Punic War, Cato became convinced the city was an existential threat to Rome. So he ended every speech in the Senate — on any topic — with the phrase “Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam” — “Furthermore, I consider that Carthage must be destroyed.”
Whether the Senate was discussing taxes, roads, or what to have for lunch, Cato would wrap it up with his Carthage bomb. And eventually — after decades of this — Rome listened. The Third Punic War ended with Carthage burned to the ground, its soil salted, and its people enslaved.
The joke here is that Cato’s catchphrase became so predictable that his fellow senators were just like “Yeah, we know, you literally never stop saying it.” The original “okay boomer” of the Roman Republic.
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