mikeus Scipio scripsit:

Many attribute the demise of Carthage, the only check to Roman power in the Mediterranean, as being responsible for the collapse of time-honoured Roman values; as vast wealth poured into the eternal city and corrupted its Senators, and fuelled them to further outrages in the name of Rome.

A bit ago I was reading Polybius' account of the seige and sacking of Syracuse. Moveable public monuments and art were moved en masse to ornament Rome and private pieces, likewise to patrician homes in Rome. Polybius then makes the following observation:

That has stuck in my mind ever since.