Breakdown of Pater dicit iustum iudicem rumorem falsum non sequi.
Questions & Answers about Pater dicit iustum iudicem rumorem falsum non sequi.
Because after dicit Latin uses an indirect statement construction, often called the accusative-and-infinitive.
Instead of saying something like Father says that the just judge does not follow a false rumor, Latin says, more literally:
Father says the just judge not to follow a false rumor.
In this construction:
- the subject of the embedded statement goes into the accusative
- the verb of the embedded statement goes into the infinitive
So:
- iustum iudicem = the just judge (accusative subject of the infinitive)
- sequi = to follow (infinitive)
For the same reason: it is part of the indirect statement after dicit.
Latin commonly uses:
- a verb of saying/thinking/perceiving
- followed by an accusative subject
- plus an infinitive verb
So dicit ... sequi means says ... follows / is following / does follow, depending on context.
Even though Latin uses the infinitive, English usually translates it with that plus a normal finite verb:
- Pater dicit iustum iudicem rumorem falsum non sequi
- The father says that the just judge does not follow a false rumor