Post longam noctem spes nova oritur.

Because post is a preposition that takes the accusative when it means after. So nox becomes noctem after post.

In other words:

• post
  • accusative
• nox = nominative singular, the basic dictionary form
• noctem = accusative singular

So post longam noctem means after a long night.

Because longam has to agree with noctem.

Latin adjectives must match the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• noctem is feminine, singular, accusative
• so the adjective must also be feminine, singular, accusative
• therefore we get longam

So:

• longa nox = a long night as a subject
• longam noctem = a long night as the object of post

Spes is nominative singular, and it is the subject of the verb.

That means spes is the thing that is doing the action of oritur.

Its dictionary form is:

• spes, spei = hope

It is a feminine fifth-declension noun.

Because it describes spes, and adjectives in Latin must agree with the noun they modify.

Here spes is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So nova is also:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

That is why you see spes nova, not spes novus or spes novum.

Because oritur comes from a deponent verb.

A deponent verb uses passive-looking forms but has an active meaning. The verb here is:

• orior, oriri, ortus sum = rise, arise

So even though oritur looks like a passive form, it means:

• rises
• arises
• comes forth

This is very common in Latin, and it is something learners have to get used to.

Oritur is:

• third person singular
• present tense
• indicative mood

So it means he/she/it arises or is arising, depending on context.

In this sentence, the subject is spes, so the sense is hope arises.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order. Both spes nova and nova spes are possible.

In many cases:

• adjective after the noun can sound fairly straightforward or descriptive
• adjective before the noun can sometimes feel more emphatic or stylistically marked

But you should be careful not to force too much meaning into adjective position every time. Very often, both orders are simply acceptable Latin, with only a slight difference in emphasis or rhythm.

Yes, but mostly for emphasis and style, not for basic grammar.

Latin uses endings more than word order to show each word’s role. So the sentence could be rearranged more freely than an English sentence.

This order does something natural:

• post longam noctem sets the scene first
• spes nova introduces the subject
• oritur comes at the end, which is a very common Latin position for the verb

So the order is meaningful in terms of flow and emphasis, but the endings are what tell you who is doing what.

Because Latin has no articles.

Latin does not have separate words that exactly match English a, an, or the. So spes nova can mean:

• new hope
• a new hope
• the new hope

Which one sounds best depends on the context and the translation style.

The main dictionary forms are:

• post = after
• longus, longa, longum = long
• nox, noctis = night
• spes, spei = hope
• novus, nova, novum = new
• orior, oriri, ortus sum = rise, arise

Knowing the dictionary forms helps you recognize why the words look different in the sentence:

• longam comes from longa
• noctem comes from nox
• nova comes from nova
• oritur comes from orior