Cato
the Elder (ca. 234 BC-149 BC) has gone down in history as the Roman
Senator said to have concluded every speech, no matter the topic,
with the words, "Furthermore, I consider that Carthage must be
destroyed" (in Latin" Ceterum censeo Carthaginem
delendam esse"). The possible narrative is compelling: “Mr.
Speaker, our sewer system is the shame of Rome. My party demands that
the government allocate a significant sum of money in next year's
budget to improve Roman sewers. Furthermore and in conclusion, Mr.
Speaker, I consider that Carthage must be destroyed!”
Carthage,
a Phoenician seafaring city-state in Africa, and Rome were ancient
rivals just across the Mediterranean Sea from each other. Rome had
suffered a number of humiliating defeats at the hands of Carthage. An
attitude demanding vengeance and the total defeat of Carthage grew in
Rome and was expressed in these immortal words: “Carthage must be
destroyed.” Finally, in the Third Battle of Carthage Rome did utterly destroy its mortal enemy and even sowed the ruins with salt. Never again did Carthage pose a
threat to Rome.
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| Location of Carthage |
There
is a lesson to be learned from Cato the Elder. If we continue to say
the same thing, attitudes will change. If we keep saying that life
begins at conception and that to kill by abortion is murder,
attitudes will begin to change. Witness, for example, the positive op-ed on the CBC News web page. Also this, last night's CBC At Issue Panel (begin at 4:15). The Canadian Liberal government has said that
organizations applying for the summer job grants program must agree
that they respect charter rights, including “women's
reproductive rights.” The office of the employment minister said that without confirming
that they are pro-choice, an organization will not receive
funding. The writer of the op-ed chides the government for this. The
CBC News opinion piece is a small win for the pro-life cause, and all
the more surprising when once remembers that the CBC is Canada's
state broadcaster.
The
pro-life movement in Canada is strong and getting stronger. Think of
the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, ARPA Canada, WeNeedaLaw,
Campaign Life Coalition, Christian Heritage Party, etc. There are
many groups and people saying: “Canada's abortion regime must end.”
William
Wilberforce (1759 –1833), a British MP, said for years
that the African slave trade must end. He said it, he announced, he
stated it, until, finally, and shortly before his death, the slave
trade ended.
He
spoke until “Carthage was destroyed.” Let us speak up for the
unborn until “Carthage is destroyed.”
