Si cives concordiae favent, civitas firma manet.

Si means if. It introduces the conditional clause, the part that gives the condition:

• Si cives concordiae favent = If the citizens favor harmony

The main clause then gives the result:

• civitas firma manet = the state remains strong

So the whole structure is a basic if ... then ... sentence, even though Latin does not need to add a separate word for then.

Cives is nominative plural.

It is the subject of favent, so it has to be in the nominative:

• cives favent = the citizens favor

The dictionary form is civis (citizen), and cives can be either nominative plural or accusative plural. Here it must be nominative plural because it is doing the action.

Here concordiae is dative singular, not nominative plural or genitive singular.

That matters because favere (to favor, support) regularly takes the dative in Latin. So:

• favere alicui = to favor something / someone

Therefore:

• concordiae favent = they favor harmony

This is a very common thing for English speakers to ask, because in English favor takes a direct object, but in Latin faveo takes the dative instead.

The ending -ae can represent more than one case, so you have to use context.

For concordia, concordiae could be:

• genitive singular = of harmony
• dative singular = to/for harmony
• nominative plural = harmonies

But after favent, the expected construction is the dative, because faveo governs the dative. So here concordiae means to harmony in grammatical form, though natural English translates it simply as harmony.

Favent is:

• 3rd person plural
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

It comes from faveo, favere, favi, fautum.

Because it is 3rd person plural, it matches cives:

• cives favent = the citizens favor

Because they have different subjects.

• favent goes with cives = citizens → plural
• manet goes with civitas = state → singular

So:

• cives favent = the citizens favor
• civitas manet = the state remains

Latin verbs must agree in number with their subjects, just as in English.

Civitas is nominative singular.

It is the subject of manet:

• civitas manet = the state remains

A learner might notice that civitas and cives are related words:

• civis = citizen
• civitas = state, community, body politic

So the sentence links the citizens and the state very neatly.

Firma agrees with civitas.

Since civitas is:

• nominative
• singular
• feminine

the adjective describing it must also be:

• nominative
• singular
• feminine

So:

• civitas firma = a strong state / the state, strong

This is standard Latin adjective agreement.

It is a predicate adjective with manet.

That means it describes the subject together with the verb, rather than directly sitting as a simple modifier in an English-style noun phrase. Compare:

• civitas firma est = the state is strong
• civitas firma manet = the state remains strong

So firma is not a separate noun or adverb; it is an adjective describing civitas.

Manet is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

It comes from maneo, manere, mansi, mansum, meaning remain, stay, or continue.

So:

• civitas firma manet = the state remains strong

The present tense here expresses a general truth or regular principle:

• If citizens favor harmony, the state remains strong.

Latin often uses the present indicative in both parts of a condition like this when stating something general or habitual.

So this is not mainly about one specific future event; it sounds more like a broad statement about civic life.

This is a simple or more vivid/general condition using the indicative in both clauses:

• Si cives concordiae favent
• civitas firma manet

There is no subjunctive here. Nothing is being presented as contrary to fact or merely hypothetical in a remote sense. It is a straightforward statement: whenever this condition holds, this result follows.

Latin has no definite or indefinite article like English the or a/an.

So:

• cives can mean citizens or the citizens
• civitas can mean a state or the state

You decide from context what sounds best in English. In a sentence like this, English usually prefers the citizens and the state, but Latin does not mark that distinction with separate words.

The word order is meaningful, but not as rigid as in English.

This sentence has a very natural order:

• Si cives concordiae favent = condition first
• civitas firma manet = result second

Latin uses endings, not just position, to show grammatical relationships, so some rearrangement would still be understandable. For example, firma civitas manet would still mean basically the same thing.

Still, the given order is elegant and clear:

1. condition
2. subjects near their verbs
3. the key result firma manet at the end

Yes, grammatically it is dative, so a very literal gloss would be to harmony. But in normal English that sounds awkward.

A better natural translation is:

• favor harmony
• support harmony

So it is useful to remember both levels:

• Latin grammar: concordiae = dative
• Natural English: harmony

Using manet gives a slightly stronger idea than simply is.

• civitas firma est = the state is strong
• civitas firma manet = the state remains strong

Manet suggests continuing in that condition, not just possessing it at one moment. In this sentence, that fits the idea that civic harmony helps preserve stability.

Yes—probably the most important grammar point is:

• faveo takes the dative

So it is worth remembering this pattern:

• alicui favere = to favor someone/something

This is the part most likely to surprise an English-speaking learner, because English would normally expect a direct object instead.