Qui civitati bene servit, honorem apud cives invenire potest.

Here qui means the person who or he who.

It is a relative pronoun, but in this sentence it does not point back to an explicitly stated noun. Latin often does this, where English might say:

• He who serves the state well...
• Whoever serves the state well...
• The one who serves the state well...

Grammatically, qui is masculine singular nominative, because it is the subject of servit.

Because the verb servio, servire meaning to serve normally takes a dative object in Latin.

So:

• civitas = state, community, body of citizens
• civitati = to/for the state or simply the state after servit

This is different from English, where serve takes a direct object. A learner may expect an accusative, but Latin uses the dative here.

So:

• civitati bene servit = serves the state well

Civitas can mean several related things, depending on context:

• state
• community
• body of citizens
• sometimes citizenship
• sometimes even city-state

In this sentence, civitati most naturally means something like the state or the civic community.

So the idea is not just serving a physical city, but serving one’s political community.

Because bene is an adverb, and it modifies the verb servit.

• bene = well
• bonus = good (an adjective)

Since the sentence is talking about how someone serves, Latin uses the adverb:

• bene servit = serves well

Not:

• bonus servit, which would be incorrect here

This is a very common point of confusion.

• servit comes from servio, servire = to serve
• servat comes from servo, servare = to save, preserve, keep, guard

So:

• civitati servit = he serves the state
• civitatem servat = he saves/preserves the state

Also, although servio is historically related to servus (slave), in normal Latin usage servire simply means to serve.

Honorem is accusative singular.

It is the direct object of invenire:

• honorem invenire = to find honor / to gain honor

Its dictionary form is honor (or honos in older spelling), and the accusative singular is honorem.

Yes, literally invenire means to find. But in context, it can also mean something closer to:

• obtain
• gain
• meet with
• win

So honorem invenire can be understood idiomatically as:

• to gain honor
• to win respect
• to obtain esteem

A very literal translation is fine, but the intended sense is probably broader than physically finding something.

Apud cives means something like:

• among the citizens
• with the citizens
• in the eyes of the citizens

The preposition apud takes the accusative case, so:

• cives here is accusative plural

This phrase shows where or with whom the honor is found: it is honor among the citizens, that is, recognition from fellow citizens.

Latin often uses prepositional phrases where English might use a looser expression.

Here apud gives the sense of among, in the presence of, or in the judgment of a group of people. So:

• honorem apud cives = honor among the citizens / honor in the eyes of the citizens

A learner might expect something like a simple dative or ablative, but apud + accusative is a normal Latin way to express this sort of relationship.

Because it depends on potest.

Latin, like English, often uses an infinitive after verbs of ability:

• potest invenire = he is able to find / he can find

So:

• potest = is able / can
• invenire = to find

This is called a complementary infinitive.

Potest is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• from possum, posse = to be able

It matches the singular subject implied by qui:

• qui ... servit ... potest = the one who serves ... can ...

Latin often uses the singular in a general statement where English could use either singular or plural.

So qui civitati bene servit means:

• he who serves the state well
• the person who serves the state well
• sometimes more naturally in English, whoever serves the state well

Latin singular here expresses a general truth, not necessarily one specific man.

It has two main parts:

1. Qui civitati bene servit
   = the one who serves the state well

2. honorem apud cives invenire potest
   = can find/gain honor among the citizens

So the structure is:

• subject phrase: qui
• relative clause: civitati bene servit
• main verb: potest
• infinitive phrase: honorem apud cives invenire

A smoother English rendering is something like:

• Whoever serves the state well can gain honor among the citizens.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

English relies heavily on position:

• The man sees the dog is different from The dog sees the man

Latin relies much more on endings, so authors can move words around for style, emphasis, or rhythm.

In this sentence:

• Qui civitati bene servit puts the descriptive clause first
• honorem comes before invenire
• potest stands at the end, which is very natural in Latin

The endings tell you what each word is doing, even when the order is different from English.

Yes, in good English that is often a very natural translation.

Although qui is literally who or the one who, the sentence expresses a general principle. So English may prefer:

• Whoever serves the state well can gain honor among the citizens.

That is not a different grammar in Latin; it is just a smoother English way to express the same idea.

Most likely it means public esteem, distinction, or honor in the eyes of others.

Depending on context, honor in Latin can also refer to:

• esteem
• mark of respect
• public honor
• even office or magistracy

But with apud cives in this sentence, the most natural sense is honor or respect among one’s fellow citizens.