Nocte eadem porta a militibus custoditur.

On that same night the gate is guarded by the soldiers.

Breakdown of Nocte eadem porta a militibus custoditur.

• miles: the soldier
• nox: the night
• porta: the gate
• idem: same

Questions & Answers about Nocte eadem porta a militibus custoditur.

Why is nocte used without a preposition? Shouldn’t Latin say something like in the night?

Not necessarily. Latin often uses the ablative of time when with no preposition to express when something happens.

So nocte means at night / on that night / during the night, depending on context.

This is very common with words for time, for example:

• eo die = on that day
• hac nocte = on this night / tonight
• prima luce = at first light

So Nocte eadem is a normal Latin way to say on that same night.

Why is it eadem and not idem?

Because eadem has to agree with nocte.

The word idem, eadem, idem means the same, and like an adjective, it must match the noun it goes with in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• nox, noctis is feminine
• nocte is singular ablative
• so the matching form is eadem = feminine singular ablative

So nocte eadem means on that same night.

What case is porta, and how do we know?