Vincere scis, Hannibal; victoria uti nescis
“You know how to win, Hannibal; you do not know how to use victory.”
Livy, Ab urbe condita 22.51
What does “Vincere scis, Hannibal; victoria uti nescis” mean?
Vincere scis, Hannibal; victoria uti nescis translates as “You know how to win, Hannibal; you do not know how to use victory.”
Winning a battle is not enough; one must know how to use success. The saying warns against wasting a hard-won advantage.
“Vincere scis, Hannibal; victoria uti nescis” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Vincere | to win, to conquer | present infinitive of vincō, “I conquer, I win”; the object of scis |
| scis | you know (how to) | 2nd person singular present indicative active of sciō, “I know”; with an infinitive it means “know how to” |
| Hannibal | Hannibal | vocative singular (direct address) of Hannibal, the Carthaginian general |
| victoria | victory | ablative singular of victōria, “victory”; the case required by ūtī |
| uti | to use | present infinitive of ūtor, “I use” (a deponent verb: passive form, active meaning); takes the ablative |
| nescis | you do not know (how to) | 2nd person singular present indicative active of nesciō, “I do not know”; with an infinitive it means “do not know how to” |
How to pronounce “Vincere scis, Hannibal; victoria uti nescis”
Classical: hard c in vincere, v as w, h in Hannibal sounded. Church: vincere starts with a v and the c before e is ch, and v in victoria is v. In both systems stress the first syllable of vincere, the second of victoria, and the first of uti.
The story behind it
Word for word the line reads “To conquer you know, Hannibal; to use victory you do not know.” It sets two skills side by side: winning a battle and turning that win into lasting advantage.
Livy reports the remark in his history of Rome, Ab urbe condita, book 22. After Hannibal’s victory at Cannae in 216 BC, his cavalry commander Maharbal urged him to march straight on Rome. When Hannibal hesitated, Maharbal is said to have spoken these words.
The line has lived on as a warning about wasted opportunity. Writers on strategy and history often quote it for the idea that a hard-won advantage must be followed up, and Cannae itself is a standard example in military history.
How to use “Vincere scis, Hannibal; victoria uti nescis”
Fits a talk or essay on strategy, leadership or business, where the point is that winning is only half the task. It also suits a history class on Cannae and the Second Punic War, or a caption about a missed opportunity.
- Latin
- Vincere scis, Hannibal; victoria uti nescis
- English
- You know how to win, Hannibal; you do not know how to use victory.
- Source
- Livy, Ab urbe condita 22.51
- Era
- Classical
- Theme
- Strategy
Common mistakes
- The two halves are not the same skill: vincere is winning, victoria uti is making use of the win. Translating uti as “to be used” loses the sense.
- Uti is not a form of “ut” (“so that”). It is the infinitive of the deponent verb utor and needs the ablative victoria.
- The words are Livy’s report of what Maharbal said, so it is not a quote from Hannibal himself, and it is told by Livy long after the event.
- In the original the pair is often cut down to the first half only, which drops the criticism.
Questions about “Vincere scis, Hannibal; victoria uti nescis”
What does “Vincere scis, Hannibal; victoria uti nescis” mean literally?
“You know how to conquer, Hannibal; you do not know how to use victory.” It says that winning a battle is not the same as profiting from it.
Who said “Vincere scis, Hannibal”?
In Livy’s account it was Maharbal, Hannibal’s cavalry commander, speaking after the victory at Cannae in 216 BC. Livy tells it in Ab urbe condita 22.51.
How do you pronounce “Vincere scis, Hannibal”?
In Classical Latin it is roughly WIN-keh-reh skees HAN-nih-bahl, with v as w and hard c. In Church Latin it is VEEN-cheh-reh skees AN-nee-bahl.
Why is the quote linked to Cannae?
Hannibal crushed a much larger Roman army at Cannae but did not attack Rome itself. Maharbal’s line expresses the view that he threw away the chance to end the war.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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