Caesar’s veni vidi vici and Plutarch

Abstract

Contrary to Philip A. Stadter’s contention, Plutarch probably possessed no more than a working knowledge of Latin. His judgments on Roman orators and his statements about the character of the Latin language are accordingly based on ready-made clichés. In particular, his evaluation of Caesar’s famous motto veni vidi vici, which he gives in Greek translation, lays stress on the homeoteleuton, inevitable in any tricolon made up of three Latin perfects in the first person singular, taking no heed of its most prominent feature, namely the alliteration.