Spes pacis timorem vincit.

the peace

Breakdown of Spes pacis timorem vincit.

• timor: the fear
• spes: the hope
• vincere: to conquer

Questions & Answers about Spes pacis timorem vincit.

Which word is the subject of Spes pacis timorem vincit?

The subject is spes.

You can tell because:

• spes is in the nominative case, the case normally used for the subject.
• vincit is third person singular, so it matches a singular subject: spes = hope.

So the basic structure is:

• spes pacis = the hope of peace
• timorem = fear
• vincit = conquers / overcomes

Why is pacis used instead of pax?

Pacis is the genitive singular form of pax, meaning of peace.

So:

• pax = peace (nominative)
• pacis = of peace

In this sentence, pacis depends on spes and tells us what kind of hope it is:

• spes pacis = hope of peace

A native English speaker may want to translate this very literally as peace's hope, but in smoother English we usually say hope of peace.

Why is timorem in that form?