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

It is an indirect statement (also called an accusative-and-infinitive construction).

After verbs like respondet (he answers / replies), Latin often does not use that plus a finite verb the way English does. Instead, it uses:

• a subject in the accusative
• plus an infinitive

So here:

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

So literally it is something like:

• The teacher replies human nature not to be changed much

More natural English is:

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

Because it is the subject of the indirect statement.

In ordinary direct statements, the subject is nominative. But in Latin indirect statement, the subject shifts into the accusative.

So:

• direct idea: natura hominum non multum mutatur
• indirect after respondet: magister respondet naturam hominum non multum mutari

That is why naturam is not natura.

Because in an indirect statement Latin uses an infinitive, not a finite verb.

So after respondet, Latin wants:

• accusative subject + infinitive

Hence mutari.

A few useful contrasts:

• mutat = changes / is changing (active finite verb)
• mutatur = is changed / changes (passive finite verb)
• mutare = to change (active infinitive)
• mutari = to be changed (passive infinitive)

Here Latin uses mutari, the present passive infinitive.

This is a very natural question, because English and Latin do not always express change in the same way.

Latin often uses mutari (to be changed) where English prefers change or be changed, depending on context. So:

• naturam ... mutari literally suggests human nature to be changed
• but idiomatic English is often simply human nature does not change much

So the Latin is not strange; it is just expressing the idea in a way that English does not copy word-for-word.

Hominum is genitive plural of homo.

It depends on naturam and means:

• the nature of human beings
• human nature

So:

• natura hominum = the nature of people / mankind / human beings

This is a very common use of the genitive: showing possession or association.

Non multum means not much.

Here multum is being used adverbially, even though it looks like a neuter singular form. Latin often uses neuter forms this way.

So:

• non multum mutari = not to change much

It modifies the verbal idea, not a noun.

Because propter takes the accusative case.

So the noun after it must be accusative:

• natura → nominative
• naturam → accusative

And the demonstrative has to agree with it:

• haec natura = this nature (nominative)
• hanc naturam = this nature (accusative)

Since propter means because of or on account of, it requires:

• propter hanc naturam = because of this nature

Here propter means because of or on account of.

So the second clause is explaining the first:

• human nature does not change much;
• because of this nature, old stories still please people now.

It gives the reason why the old stories still work.

Hanc means this, and it points back to the previously mentioned nature:

• naturam hominum
• then later hanc naturam

So the second clause picks up the idea from the first one:

• because of this nature

It is a nice example of Latin using a demonstrative to refer back to something already mentioned.

Because it agrees with fabulae, which is the subject of placent.

So:

• fabulae = nominative plural, stories
• veteres = nominative plural feminine, old

Together:

• veteres fabulae = old stories

They are the things doing the pleasing.

Because fabulae is feminine plural, and the adjective must agree with it in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• veteres = feminine nominative plural (also masculine nominative plural)
• vetera = neuter nominative/accusative plural

Since fabulae is feminine, Latin uses veteres.

Because its subject is plural:

• veteres fabulae = old stories

So the verb must also be plural:

• placent = please / are pleasing

If the subject were singular fabula, then the verb would be placet.

Latin often uses placere, which means to please or to be pleasing.

So Latin thinks of the idea as:

• old stories please [someone]

rather than:

• someone likes old stories

If the person affected were stated, Latin would usually put that person in the dative:

• veteres fabulae pueris placent = old stories please the children / the children like old stories

In your sentence, the person is left unstated, so the idea is more general:

• old stories are still pleasing even now

Etiam nunc means even now or still now.

It emphasizes that the old stories are pleasing in the present too, despite their age.

A rough breakdown:

• etiam = even, also
• nunc = now

Together:

• etiam nunc = even now / still

Yes. Latin word order is flexible, and writers often arrange words for emphasis and flow rather than strict subject-verb-object order.

A few things to notice:

• Magister respondet puts the speaker first.
• naturam hominum comes early, highlighting the topic: human nature.
• propter hanc naturam is placed first in the second clause to stress the cause: because of this nature.
• veteres fabulae etiam nunc placent saves the verb placent until the end, which is very common in Latin.

So the order is grammatical and also stylistically effective.

Yes. Fabula can mean several related things depending on context, such as:

• story
• tale
• fable
• sometimes even play

In this sentence, stories or tales is probably the broadest and safest meaning. The exact English word depends on the context you were given.

The semicolon shows that the two clauses are closely connected:

1. The teacher replies that human nature does not change much
2. because of this nature, old stories still please even now

So the second clause supports or explains the first.

Also, punctuation in printed Latin is largely an editorial aid for readers. Ancient manuscripts did not use punctuation exactly the way modern editions do.

Yes. A direct version would be something like:

• Natura hominum non multum mutatur.
• Human nature does not change much.

Then after respondet, Latin converts that direct statement into indirect statement:

• Magister respondet naturam hominum non multum mutari.

This is a very useful way to understand accusative-and-infinitive constructions: imagine the direct statement hiding inside them.