# Delenda Est

Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam ("Furthermore, I consider that Carthage must be destroyed"), often abbreviated to Carthago delenda est ("Carthage must be destroyed") or Ceterum censeo, is a Latin oratorical phrase pronounced by Cato the Censor, a politician of the Roman Republic. The phrase originates from debates held in the Roman Senate prior to the Third Punic War (149–146 BC) between Rome and Carthage, where Cato is said to have used it as the conclusion to all his speeches in order to push for the war. == Grammatical analysis == The phrase employs delenda, the feminine singular gerundive form of the verb dēlēre ("to destroy").