Discipuli libros legunt et cum magistro loquuntur; sic cotidie multum discunt, ut mentes eorum semper fortiores sint.

The students read books and talk with the teacher; thus every day they learn much, so that their minds may always be stronger.

Breakdown of Discipuli libros legunt et cum magistro loquuntur; sic cotidie multum discunt, ut mentes eorum semper fortiores sint.

• esse: to be
• legere: to read
• et: and
• discipulus: the student
• magister: the teacher
• liber: the book
• cum: with
• mens: the mind
• fortis: strong
• multum: much
• eorum: their
• semper: always
• cotidie: every day
• loqui: to talk
• ut: so that
• discere: to learn
• sic: thus

Questions & Answers about Discipuli libros legunt et cum magistro loquuntur; sic cotidie multum discunt, ut mentes eorum semper fortiores sint.

Why does loquuntur end in -ntur, which usually looks passive, if it means “they talk / speak”?

Loquuntur is from loquor, loquī, locūtus sum, which is a deponent verb.

• Deponent verbs:
  • Look passive in form (they use the passive endings: -r, -ris, -tur, -mur, -minī, -ntur),
  • But have active meaning.

So:

• loquuntur = they speak / they talk (3rd person plural, present, deponent)
• Not they are spoken.

Because loquor is always deponent, you never get an active form like loquunt in classical Latin.

Why is it cum magistro loquuntur and not something like magistrum loquuntur?

The verb loquor regularly takes the preposition + ablative to express “talk with/to someone”.

• cum magistro:
  • cum = with
  • magistro = ablative singular of magister, teacher
    ⇒ “(they) talk with the teacher”

Latin does not say magistrum loquuntur the way English can say “they speak the teacher” (which it actually can’t!). Instead, Latin treats it as “talk with” or “talk to”:

• cum amīcīs loquuntur – they talk with (their) friends
• cum magistro loquuntur – they talk with the teacher

What is the function of sic in this sentence?

Sic is an adverb meaning “thus, so, in this way”.

Here it links the first clause with the result that follows:

• Discipuli libros legunt et cum magistro loquuntur; sic cotidie multum discunt...
  • sic = in this way / thus
    ⇒ They read books and talk with the teacher; *in this way they learn much every day...*

Very often sic works together with an ut-clause of result, as we have here:

• sic ... ut mentes eorum semper fortiores sint
  ⇒ in such a way that their minds are always stronger

Is cotidie an adjective (“everyday”) or something else?

Cotidie is an adverb, meaning “every day / daily”.

• It modifies the verb discunt:
  sic cotidie multum discunt = thus they learn much every day.

You might also see the spelling quotidie; both cotidie and quotidie are accepted in classical Latin, with cotidie being slightly more common in later authors.

What exactly is multum doing here? Why not multa discunt?

Multum here is an adverbial accusative and means “much, a lot” in the sense of “to a great extent / greatly”.

• sic cotidie multum discunt
  ⇒ thus they learn *a lot every day / thus they learn much every day*

Compare:

• multum labōrat – he works a lot
• multum dormit – she sleeps a lot

You could see multa discunt in Latin, but that usually means “they learn many things”, emphasizing how many items are learned.
Multum discunt emphasizes the extent or amount of learning rather than a countable number of separate things.

What kind of ut-clause is ut mentes eorum semper fortiores sint – purpose or result?

Here it is best taken as a result clause.

Clues:

1. It’s preceded by sic (“thus, in this way”), which often points forward to a result:
   • sic ... ut ... = in such a way that...
2. The English meaning is naturally “so that (as a result) their minds are always stronger”, not “in order that their minds may be stronger”.

So the structure is:

• sic ... multum discunt, ut mentes eorum semper fortiores sint
  • they learn much *in such a way that their minds are always stronger
    ⇒ *Result, not conscious purpose.

Why is sint in the subjunctive mood instead of the indicative (sunt)?

In Latin, ut + subjunctive commonly introduces:

• purpose clauses (in order that...), or
• result clauses (so that / so ... that...).

Because ut mentes eorum semper fortiores sint is a result clause, the verb must be in the subjunctive:

• sint = 3rd person plural, present subjunctive of esse.

If you wrote ut mentes eorum semper fortiores sunt, it would be ungrammatical for a result clause. The subjunctive is required by the ut construction here.

The tense is present because:

• The main verb discunt is present (primary sequence),
• The result is contemporary with that action: while they are learning, their minds are (become / remain) stronger.

Why is it mentes eorum, not mentes suas?

This is about the difference between the reflexive possessive and the non‑reflexive possessive.

• suus, -a, -um = “his own / her own / their own”, referring to the subject of its own clause.
• eorum = “of them / their”, not reflexive; it simply refers to some third person previously mentioned, not necessarily the grammatical subject of the clause.

In ut mentes eorum semper fortiores sint:

• Subject of the ut‑clause is mentes,
• eorum refers back to discipuli from the main clause.

If you used suas, it would, strictly speaking, refer to the subject of the subordinate clause, i.e. to mentes, not clearly to discipuli, and would sound awkward or confusing (“the minds’ own minds”). Using eorum keeps the reference straight:
⇒ “that their (the students’) minds are always stronger.”

Why is fortiores in the comparative form, and why doesn’t Latin say “than X”?

Fortiores is the comparative of fortis:

• fortis – strong
• fortior, fortius – stronger, rather strong
• fortissimus – strongest, very strong

In the sentence:

• ut mentes eorum semper fortiores sint
  ⇒ so that their minds are *stronger and stronger / ever stronger*.

Latin often leaves the standard of comparison understood when it’s obvious from context:

• Fortiores quam antea – stronger than before (the quam antea is easily implied).
• Here, the idea is stronger than they used to be, or stronger than if they did not study this way.

So even without quam, fortiores still carries the comparative sense.

What is fortiores agreeing with, and why is it plural?

Fortiores is an adjective in the nominative plural, modifying mentes:

• mentes – nominative plural of mens, mentis (feminine), mind.
• fortiores – nominative plural comparative, matching number and case of mentes.

So:

• mentes eorum semper fortiores sint
  ⇒ that their *minds may always be stronger*.

Plural fortiores agrees with plural mentes (not with discipuli directly; mentes is the subject of sint).

Could the word order be cum magistro loquuntur et libros legunt instead? Does it change the meaning?

You could say:

• Discipuli cum magistro loquuntur et libros legunt...

The basic meaning would remain:

• The students talk with the teacher and read books...

Latin word order is flexible. Authors may change the order for:

• Emphasis,
• Rhythm,
• Style.

In the given sentence, having libros legunt first and then cum magistro loquuntur slightly emphasizes the reading of books before the speaking with the teacher, but there is no strong logical difference. Both orders are grammatically correct.

Why is discunt used instead of something like addiscunt or a different verb for “learn”?

Discunt is the 3rd person plural present indicative of discō, discere, didicī – a very common verb for “to learn” in general.

• discere = to learn (by study, practice, experience)
• addiscere can mean “to learn thoroughly, learn in addition”, but is less common and more specific.

Here, multum discunt is a straightforward, idiomatic way to say “they learn a lot”. Latin doesn’t need a more specialized verb unless the context calls for a special nuance.