"Veni, vidi, vici" (Classical Latin: [ˈweËniË ËˆwiËdiË ËˆwiËkiË]; Ecclesiastical Latin: [ˈvÉ›ni ˈvidi ˈvitʃi]; "I came; I saw; I conquered") is a Latin phrase popularly attributed to Julius Caesar who, according to Appian, used the phrase in a letter to the Roman Senate around 47 BC after he had achieved a quick victory in his short war against Pharnaces II of Pontus at the Battle of Zela. The phrase is used to refer to a swift, conclusive victory.
The phrase is attributed in Plutarch's Life of Caesar and Suetonius's Lives of the Twelve Caesars: Julius. Plutarch writes that Caesar used it in a report to Amantius, a friend of his at Rome. Suetonius states that Caesar displayed the three words as an inscription during his Pontic triumph.
Allusions and references
Variations of the sentence "Veni, vidi, vici" are often quoted, and also used in music, art, literature, and entertainment.
Since the time of Caesar, the phrase has been used in military contexts. King Jan III of Poland after the 17th-century Battle of Vienna, alluded to it, saying Venimus, Vidimus, Deus vicit ("We came, We saw, God conquered"). In 2011 then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, referred to the death of Muammar Gaddafi with a similar phrase, saying that "We came, we saw, he died".
The sentence has also been used in music, including several well-known works over the years. The opening of Handel's 1724 opera Giulio Cesare contains the line: Curio, Cesare venne, e vide e vinse ("Curious, Caesar came, saw and conquered"). The title song in the musical Mame contains the line: "You came, you saw, you conquered". More recently: the rapper Jay-Z directly uses the English translation in his song "Encore"; Swedish band, The Hives, reference the phrase in the title of their album Veni Vidi Vicious; and the title of a song by Korean rapper Zico of the group Block B.
The phrase has also been heavily referenced in literature and film. The title of French poet Victor Hugo's Veni, vidi, vixi ("I came, I saw, I lived"), written after the death of his daughter Leopoldine at age 19 in 1843, uses the allusion with its first verse: J'ai bien assez vécu...("I have lived quite long enough..."). Peter Venkman, one of the protagonists in the 1984 film Ghostbusters, delivers a humorous variation: "We came. We saw. We kicked its ass!" This line was among the 400 nominees for the AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.
Latin grammar
Veni, vidi, and vici are first person perfect forms of the Latin verbs venire, videre, and vincere, which mean "to come", "to see", and "to conquer", respectively. The sentence's form is classed as a tricolon and a hendiatris.
English grammar
The English phrase "I came, I saw, I conquered" employs what is known as a comma splice (another common example is "The more, the merrier"). Grammarians generally agree that using a comma to join two independent clauses should be done sparingly. Sometimes, the comma splice is avoided by using a semicolon instead: "I came; I saw; I conquered".
Notes
