Imperator ipse pacem servare vult.

the emperor

Breakdown of Imperator ipse pacem servare vult.

• pax: the peace
• velle: to want
• servare: to preserve

Questions & Answers about Imperator ipse pacem servare vult.

Why is imperator at the beginning of the sentence?

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because Latin uses case endings and verb forms to show grammatical function.

Putting imperator first gives it emphasis. It tells the reader right away who the sentence is about. In this sentence, the order suggests something like:

The general/emperor himself wants to preserve peace.

So the first position helps highlight imperator as the topic or focus.

What does ipse mean here?

Ipse means self or himself/herself/itself, depending on the context.

Here it agrees with imperator, so it means himself:

• imperator ipse = the commander himself / the emperor himself

It is used for emphasis. It shows that the person personally, and not someone else, wants this.

This is different from a normal personal pronoun like is or ille. Ipse is specifically emphatic.

Why are both imperator and ipse in the same form?

Because ipse is agreeing with imperator.

In Latin, adjectives and adjective-like words must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case