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 Veni Vidi ViciBefore Julius Caesar was made dictator for life, he engaged in a civil war with his rival Pompey. Caesar started the war by crossing the Rubicon River into Italy, reportedly uttering the words Iacta alea est—"the die is cast." Pompey fled and was eventually killed after Caesar pursued him to Egypt. From Egypt, Caesar went to Syria and Pontus, where in 47 BCE he defeated Pharnaces II with such ease that he reported his victory with the words Veni, vidi, vici—meaning what? More...
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I love it that this phrase is so simple and catchy that two thousand years later, if you google it you get all images of all sorts of tattoos, and graffiti, and art work (some of a depressingly mysogenistic sexual nature but that's life) - from three words, in a dead language, that were probably never said in the first place. The first viral meme? My personal favourites from the images....  the obligatory cat philosophy... [image not available] and of course the English language joke... 
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The squirrel in armour is great!
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"I came, I saw, I conquered.") is a Latin sentence phrase the etymology of which reportedly extends from Caesar's oral declaration respecting his campaign in Britain (55-54 BC) to his written comment in 47 BC on his short war with Pharnaces II of Pontus in the city of Zela (currently known as Zile, in Turkey), both abbreviations arising from singular victory in certain location. Veni, vidi, and vici are first person perfect forms of the three Latin verbs venire, videre, and vincere.
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1066 And All That, of course...
Julius Cæsar was therefore compelled to invade Britain again the following year (54 B.C., not 56, owing to the peculiar Roman method of counting), and having defeated the Ancient Britons by unfair means, such as battering-rams, tortoises, hippocausts, centipedes, axes and bundles, set the memorable Latin sentence, “Veni, Vidi, Vici,” which the Romans, who were all very well educated, construed correctly.
The Britons, however, who of course still used the old pronunciation, understanding him to have called them “Weeny, Weedy and Weaky,” lost heart and gave up the struggle, thinking that he had already divided them All into Three Parts.
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Good to know
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after his assassination 10 yrs. of civil war
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I came, I saw, I ran like the wind 
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"I came, I saw, I conquered." Brutal people in a very brutal society, kind of like America in recent years, you could say... That is if you compare the times with the knowledge that exists.
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Marlboro prints this phrase on their cigarette packs.
I came, I saw, and I conquered....my very own lungs.
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Caesar, not only erased the blemish of the earlier Roman loss on this very site, he erected a monument to commemorate just that event. He set about reorganizing parts of the eastern provinces and set up Mithridates of Pergamum as King of Pontus in recognition for his loyalty and service in Egypt. Caesar then crossed from Asia to Thracia, and set sail for Italy. In the meantime, in recognition of his overwhelming victory, he sent a simple, but powerful message back to Rome and the Senate: "VENI VIDI VICI"!! http://www.unrv.com/fall-republic/veni-vidi-vici.php
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excaelis wrote:1066 And All That, of course...
Julius Cæsar was therefore compelled to invade Britain again the following year (54 B.C., not 56, owing to the peculiar Roman method of counting), and having defeated the Ancient Britons by unfair means, such as battering-rams, tortoises, hippocausts, centipedes, axes and bundles, set the memorable Latin sentence, “Veni, Vidi, Vici,” which the Romans, who were all very well educated, construed correctly.
The Britons, however, who of course still used the old pronunciation, understanding him to have called them “Weeny, Weedy and Weaky,” lost heart and gave up the struggle, thinking that he had already divided them All into Three Parts.
Dear Excaelis: Do you by chance teach history? If so I'd love to take a class from you...love it!  What you wrote has the flair and wit of Monty Python. _____________ I just love how people love to quote things from long, long ago and are so certain that the quotes are accurate...hmmm  I'd love to know how they can be so sure? If I play a game of telephone with my students (in a class of 12) they can't pass along simple phrases without mixing them up yet we seem so sure that quotes passed down for hundreds of years are somehow bang on the money...wonder why that is.
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I wish I had written that. It's from "1066 And All That" by Sellar and Yeatman. The funniest history book ever. It's pretty easy to find online.
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excaelis wrote:I wish I had written that. It's from "1066 And All That" by Sellar and Yeatman. The funniest history book ever. It's pretty easy to find online. Thanks I will look it up. I teach English using history and I'm always looking for good resource material.
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