Mercator fatetur dolium parvum fractum esse, sed dicit aliud dolium bonum manere.

Because both fatetur and dicit introduce an indirect statement in Latin.

In English, we often say something like:

• The merchant admits that the small jar has been broken
• He says that another jar remains good

Latin usually expresses this with:

• a noun or pronoun in the accusative
• plus an infinitive

So:

• fatetur dolium parvum fractum esse = he admits the small jar to have been broken
• dicit aliud dolium bonum manere = he says another jar to remain good

This is the very common accusative-and-infinitive construction.

It is accusative because it is the subject of the infinitive in an indirect statement.

That can feel strange to an English speaker, because in English the subject would usually stay in the nominative:

• the jar has been broken
• another jar remains good

But in Latin indirect statement, the subject of the subordinate idea goes into the accusative:

• dolium parvum fractum esse
• aliud dolium bonum manere

So dolium is not the direct object in the ordinary English sense. It is the accusative subject of esse and manere.

Because the clause is in indirect statement, so Latin uses an infinitive, not a finite verb.

Here fractum esse is the perfect passive infinitive:

• fractum = broken
• esse = to be

Together: to have been broken

So:

• dolium parvum fractum esse = that the small jar has been broken

If Latin used fractum est, that would be a direct finite statement: the jar has been broken. But after fatetur, Latin normally switches to the infinitive construction.

Because fractum agrees with dolium.

Dolium is:

• neuter
• singular
• accusative

So any adjective or participle describing it must also be:

• neuter
• singular
• accusative

That is why we get:

• dolium parvum fractum

All three words match:

• dolium = jar, cask
• parvum = small
• fractum = broken

Because fateor, fateri, fassus sum is a deponent verb.

Deponent verbs have:

• passive forms
• but active meanings

So fatetur looks like a passive form, but it means:

• he admits
• he confesses

not he is admitted

This is something English speakers often have to get used to in Latin.

Both introduce indirect statements, but their meanings are a little different:

• fatetur = admits, confesses
• dicit = says

So the sentence contrasts two statements:

• the merchant admits that one jar was broken
• but says that another jar is still good

The sed marks that contrast: but.

Aliud means another or a different.

It agrees with dolium, so it is also:

• neuter
• singular
• accusative

So aliud dolium means:

• another jar
• a different jar

This shows that the merchant is talking about a second jar, not the first broken one.

Because bonum is describing dolium inside the indirect statement, so it agrees with dolium.

In aliud dolium bonum manere, the phrase means:

• that another jar remains good

Even though bonum may feel like it should be separate in English, Latin still makes it agree with dolium:

• neuter
• singular
• accusative

This is because dolium is the accusative subject of manere in the indirect statement.

Manere means to remain or to stay.

So aliud dolium bonum manere does not just mean another jar is good. It means:

• another jar remains good
• another jar is still in good condition

That suggests persistence: despite the broken jar, a different jar is still fine.

Manere is a present infinitive.

In indirect statement, the tense of the infinitive is usually understood relative to the main verb, not as an absolute English tense.

So after dicit, the present infinitive often shows action or state happening at the same time as the saying:

• dicit aliud dolium bonum manere
• he says that another jar is remaining good
• more natural English: he says that another jar remains good or is still good

By contrast, fractum esse is perfect infinitive, which shows something already completed relative to fatetur:

• he admits that the small jar has been broken

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order, because the endings show the grammar.

This sentence is arranged quite naturally:

• Mercator = subject first
• fatetur = main verb
• then the first indirect statement
• sed = contrast
• dicit = second main verb
• then the second indirect statement

Within each indirect statement, Latin places related words near each other:

• dolium parvum fractum esse
• aliud dolium bonum manere

But Latin could rearrange many of these words without changing the basic meaning, as long as the endings remain clear.

It has two main parts joined by sed:

1. Mercator fatetur dolium parvum fractum esse

   • main verb: fatetur
   • indirect statement: dolium parvum fractum esse

2. sed dicit aliud dolium bonum manere

   • main verb: dicit
   • indirect statement: aliud dolium bonum manere

So the pattern is:

• main verb + accusative + infinitive
• but
• main verb + accusative + infinitive

That repeated structure makes the sentence easier to analyze once you recognize indirect statement.