Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam

"Ceterum censeo Carthaginem delendam esse", or "Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem delendam esse" (English: "Furthermore, (moreover) I consider that Carthage must be destroyed"), often abbreviated to "Ceterum censeo", "Carthago delenda est", or "Delenda est Carthago" (English: "Carthage must be destroyed"), is a Latin oratorical phrase. Originating in the Roman Republic in the 2nd century BC prior to the Third Punic War against Carthage, by the party advocating destruction of Rome's ancient rival Carthage, which was thought to be rebuilding its capacity for further warfare. The phrase is associated with the Roman senator Cato the Elder, who is said to have used it as the conclusion to all his speeches.

The phrase employs delenda, the feminine singular gerundive form of the verb ("to destroy"). The gerundive (or future passive participle) delenda is a verbal adjective that may be translated as "to be destroyed". When combined with a form of the verb ("to be"), it adds an element of compulsion or necessity, yielding "is to be destroyed", or, as it is more commonly rendered, "must be destroyed". The gerundive delenda functions as a predicative adjective in this construction, which is known as the passive periphrastic.

The short form of the phrase, Carthago delenda est, is an independent clause. Consequently, the feminine singular subject noun Carthago appears in the nominative case. The verb est functions as a copula—linking the subject noun Carthago to the predicative verbal adjective delenda—and further imports a deontic modality to the clause as a whole. Because delenda is a predicative adjective in relation to the subject noun Carthago, it takes the same number (singular), gender (feminine) and case (nominative) as Carthago.

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