Imperator dicit: “Miles fortis erit, sed bellum manebit.”

(The emperor says: “The soldier will be brave, but war will remain.”)

Breakdown of Imperator dicit: “Miles fortis erit, sed bellum manebit.”

• esse: to be
• sed: but
• manere: to remain
• imperator: the emperor
• bellum: the war
• miles: the soldier
• fortis: brave
• dicere: to say

Questions & Answers about Imperator dicit: “Miles fortis erit, sed bellum manebit.”

Why is miles in the singular instead of the plural?

Here, miles is used in the singular because the statement is referring to one particular soldier rather than multiple soldiers. It’s a common Latin usage to speak about a single, representative individual in a general statement.

Why is fortis in the nominative masculine singular?

Fortis must agree with the noun it modifies, which is miles. Both are nominative (since miles is the subject) and masculine singular (describing one male soldier). Latin adjectives always match their nouns in case, number, and gender.

Why does the verb erit come after miles fortis?

Latin word order is more flexible than English. Typically, a verb can appear at the end of a clause, but it doesn’t have to. Here, miles fortis is emphasized first, followed by the future tense of to be—erit—to stress that ‘The soldier will be brave.’

What does the future tense erit and manebit each signify?

Both erit and manebit are future tense verbs. Erit (from esse, ‘to be’) means ‘he will be,’ while manebit (from manēre, ‘to remain or stay’) means ‘it will remain.’ They indicate actions or states that will occur in the future.

Why is direct speech used rather than an indirect statement?

Latin can render speech either directly or indirectly (using, for example, dicit + accusative + infinitive). Here, the writer uses direct speech (the text within "Miles fortis erit, sed bellum manebit.") to convey the imperator’s statement more vividly, as though he is speaking right in front of us.