“Victorious Carthage measures the downfall of Rome by all the heap of gold that was torn from the left hands of the slain.”

—  Silius Italicus , Punica

Book VIII, lines 675–676
This refers to the mass of rings Hannibal plundered from the Roman knights slain in the Battle of Cannae.
Punica

Original

Congesto laevae quodcumque avellitur auro metitur Latias victrix Carthago ruinas.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Silius Italicus 31
Roman consul, orator, and Latin epic poet 26–101

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