The city was demolished and the site formally cursed by Roman priests. Regardless of the topic, his last sentence was always the same-"And I think Carthage ought to be destroyed." A rival countered by ending his own speeches with "And I think Carthage ought not to be destroyed," but Cato carried the day, although he died before Carthage was captured in 146 B.C. Famed for his oratory as well as his stern morality, the old man was frequently asked to give his opinion in the Senate. In the last years of his long life, Cato became obsessed with Rome's old rival, the city that had unleashed Hannibal on the Roman Republic and brought it to the brink of destruction. 'Carthage must be destroyed'-the title of Richard Miles's book was the constant theme of the Roman statesman Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149 B.C.). ILLUSTRATION: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY A modern depiction of the military and commercial harbors constructed in Carthage in the second century B.C.
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