Dusty Phrases

Hi! Welcome to “Dusty Phrases.” You will find below an ancient phrase in one language or another, along with its English translation. You may also find the power to inspire your friends or provoke dread among your enemies.

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Latin:

Veni, vidi, vici

English:

“I came; I saw; I conquered”

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This Latin phrase remains relatively well known even today. From wiki:

Veni, vidi, vici (Classical Latin: [weːniː wiːdiː wiːkiː], Ecclesiastical Latin: [ˈveni ˈvidi ˈvitʃi]; “I came; I saw; I conquered”) is a Latin phrase used to refer to a swift, conclusive victory. The phrase is 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 (modern-day Zile, Turkey).

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 in Rome. Suetonius states that Caesar displayed the three words as an inscription during his Pontic triumph.

The phrase, in both Latin and English, has been a fixture in popular culture since the time of Julius Caesar. Musical artist Jay Z uses the line in his song, Encore. The phrase is used more commonly today after inconsequential victories than military ones, and is often said as a joke.

However, in recent years, former American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paraphrased the English translation of this expression after the death of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Her comment was, probably not surprisingly, met with international backlash.