In iudicio iudex reae innocentiam quaerit, non pecuniam eius.

In the trial the judge seeks the woman’s innocence, not her money.

Breakdown of In iudicio iudex reae innocentiam quaerit, non pecuniam eius.

• in: in
• non: not
• pecunia: the money
• eius: her

Questions & Answers about In iudicio iudex reae innocentiam quaerit, non pecuniam eius.

Why is in iudicio in the ablative?

Because in with a fixed place usually takes the ablative in Latin. Here iudicium means court or trial, and in iudicio means in court or at the trial.

So:

• in + ablative = in / on / at
• iudicio = ablative singular of iudicium

This is different from in + accusative, which often means into or shows motion toward something.

What case is iudex, and why?

Iudex is nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence: the judge is the person doing the action.

• iudex = judge
• quaerit = seeks / looks for / investigates

So iudex quaerit = the judge seeks/investigates.

Why is reae not the subject?

Because reae is genitive singular, not nominative. It means of the defendant or the defendant's.

In this sentence, reae depends on innocentiam:

• reae innocentiam = the innocence of the defendant

So the sentence is not saying the defendant seeks anything. The subject is still iudex.