Magister respondet naturam hominum non multum mutari; propter hanc naturam veteres fabulae etiam nunc placent.

Because Latin very often uses indirect statement after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, hearing, and similar verbs.

The normal pattern is:

• accusative subject
  • infinitive

So here:

• naturam = the subject of the indirect statement, put in the accusative
• mutari = the infinitive

That whole part means that human nature does not change much.

So after respondet, Latin says something more like:

• The teacher answers human nature not to change much

but in natural English we translate it as:

• The teacher answers that human nature does not change much.

In an indirect statement, Latin puts the subject of the subordinate idea in the accusative.

So even though nature is logically the subject of mutari, it appears as:

• naturam, not natura

because it is the subject of the infinitive.

This is one of the most important Latin patterns to learn:

• main verb of saying/thinking
• accusative subject
• infinitive verb

So:

• naturam ... mutari = that nature is changed / changes

Hominum is the genitive plural of homo, meaning of human beings / of people.

Latin often expresses an idea like human nature by using:

• a noun + genitive

So:

• natura hominum = the nature of human beings
• literally, the nature of people

English often prefers an adjective, but Latin is very comfortable with this genitive construction.

Non multum means not much.

Here it functions adverbially, modifying mutari:

• non multum mutari = not to be changed much / not to change much

Even though multum is originally the neuter form of multus, it is often used as an adverb meaning:

• much
• a lot

So this is a very common Latin way to say not very much or not much.

Mutari is the present passive infinitive of muto.

So literally it means:

• to be changed

That gives the phrase:

• naturam hominum non multum mutari
• literally, that the nature of human beings is not changed much

In smooth English, that often becomes:

• that human nature does not change much

So the passive Latin can correspond to a more natural active English translation. The important grammatical point is simply that mutari is the infinitive required by the indirect statement, and its passive form gives the sense be changed.

Because propter is a preposition meaning because of or on account of, and it takes the accusative case.

So:

• propter naturam = because of the nature

And hanc agrees with naturam:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative

So:

• propter hanc naturam = because of this nature

Here hanc points back to the nature just mentioned. It is a neat way to connect the second statement to the first one.

You know it from both case and verb agreement.

• fabulae here is nominative plural
• veteres agrees with it as a plural adjective
• placent is 3rd person plural

So veteres fabulae must be the subject of placent:

• old stories please

This is a good example of how Latin relies on endings more than word order.

Because placeo means to please, not to like.

So Latin expresses the idea from the opposite angle:

• fabulae placent = the stories are pleasing

In fuller form, you might have a dative showing to whom they are pleasing:

• fabulae pueris placent = the stories please the boys

In this sentence, the dative is omitted because the meaning is general:

• old stories are still pleasing
• in natural English: people still like old stories

So placent is perfectly natural Latin, even though English usually phrases the idea differently.

Etiam nunc means even now or still now.

It emphasizes that the old stories were pleasing in the past and continue to be pleasing in the present.

So:

• veteres fabulae etiam nunc placent
• old stories are pleasing even now
• more natural English: old stories still appeal to people today

The word etiam adds emphasis, while nunc gives the time reference.

Yes, but not in the sense of a fixed English-like order.

Latin word order is flexible because the endings show the grammatical roles. That lets the writer arrange words for emphasis and flow.

A few things to notice here:

• Magister respondet comes first, setting up the statement.
• naturam hominum appears before mutari, which keeps the indirect statement together clearly.
• propter hanc naturam comes first in the second clause, emphasizing the cause: because of this nature.
• veteres fabulae etiam nunc placent ends with placent, a very normal Latin placement for the verb.

So the order is not random; it helps the sentence move from:

1. a general claim about human nature
2. to a consequence of that claim

It can mean more than just fables in the narrow English sense.

Fabula can mean:

• story
• tale
• narrative
• fable
• sometimes even a play, depending on context

So veteres fabulae here is probably best understood broadly as:

• old stories
• ancient tales

That fits the general idea better than limiting it only to moral fables.