From Wikipedia:
Vēnī, vīdī, vīcī (
pronounced [ˈweːniː ˈwiːdiː ˈwiːkiː] in
Classical Latin or [ˈveni ˈvidi ˈvitʃi] in
Vulgar Latin) is a famous
Latin sentence spoken by
Julius Caesar in
47 BC.
[1] It translates as "I came, I saw, I conquered." Its form (a three-part sentence or motto) is classed as a
tricolon and a
hendiatris. The sentence appears in
Plutarch and
Suetonius (Plut.
Caes. 50, Suet.
Iul. 37.). Caesar used the sentence as the full text of his message to the
Roman senate describing his recent victory over
Pharnaces II of Pontus in the
Battle of Zela in Zile, a town of
Tokatcity in contemporary Turkey. Caesar's terse remark simultaneously
proclaimed the totality of his victory and served to remind the senate
of Caesar's military prowess (Caesar was still in the midst of a civil
war); alternatively, the remark can be viewed as an expression of
Caesar's contempt for the
patrician senate, traditionally representing the most powerful group in the
Roman Republic.
Vēnī,
vīdī, and
vīcī are
first person perfect tense forms of the three Latin verbs
veniō,
venīre;
videō,
vidēre, and
vincō,
vincere.
[edit] Cultural referencesVariations of the sentence "Veni, Vidi, Vici" are often quoted in music, art, literature, and entertainment.
At times, it has been misconceived as a sort of "magic word." The three words in the sentence are similar, suggesting a sort of
chant or
spell. The television show
Doug from
Nickelodeon applied the term as such.
It is also often parodied, for example "We came, we saw, we kicked its ***!" from the movie
Ghostbusters, "I came, I sawed, I hammered” in a
Winnie the Pooh video and "Veni, Vidi, We kicked their asses!" from the videogame
Halo 2 (a human
NPC line after a successful confrontation). In "
Married to the Mob", the carved headboard of a bed bears the words "Veni, Veni, Veni" (I came, I came, I came).
It is also found on the Phillip Morris emblem on popular cigarette brand, Marlboro.
The sentence lends itself to use in music, and has been used in works ranging from the opening of
Handel's opera
Giulio Cesare in Egitto, through
You came, you saw, you conquered me from
These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) in the 1940s, to the title of an album by
rapper Ja Rule and the lines
I came, I saw, I conquered - From record sales, to sold out concerts in "
Encore" by
Jay-Z. It is also used in the title of a song by French singer
Alizée from the album
Gourmandises. The title of
The Hives album
Veni Vidi Viciousis another play on words with the suffix -ous added to give it a
different meaning. In 2007, the expression was used as a song title on
the album
Good Bad Not Evil by the band
Black Lips.
Apart from numerous references in literature, the sentence is also
often used in more general contexts, for example in the species name of
the
Conquered Lorikeet (Vini vidivici). It is often used as a motto or a tagline, due to its forceful connotation, from the motto of
Philip Morris International to a misspelled version ("Vini, Vidi, Vici") used as the motto for the US Army Sniper School,
Fort Benning, Georgia.
I like it ^^
Subject: Guild slogan! 
Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:50 pm
