Avia dicit sapientiam cum annis non semper venire, sed cum patientia et studio crescere.

Because after dicit Latin often uses an indirect statement construction rather than a clause with that.

In English, we say:

• Grandmother says that wisdom does not always come with age

In Latin, this becomes:

• Avia dicit sapientiam ... venire

Here, sapientiam is the subject of the indirect statement, and in Latin the subject of an indirect statement goes into the accusative case. So even though wisdom is logically the thing that comes and grows, Latin puts it in the accusative because it depends on dicit.

They are infinitives because they are part of the indirect statement after dicit.

A very common Latin pattern is:

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

So here:

• dicit = she says
• sapientiam = the subject of what is being said, in the accusative
• venire and crescere = infinitives expressing what wisdom is said to do

Literally, the structure is something like:

• Grandmother says wisdom not always to come with years, but to grow with patience and study.

That sounds awkward in English, but it is standard Latin.

Yes. Sapientiam is understood as the subject of both infinitives.

So the sentence means that wisdom:

• does not always come with years
• but grows with patience and study

Latin does not need to repeat sapientiam before crescere, because it is clearly the subject of both verbs.

Because Latin usually does not use that in this kind of sentence. Instead, it uses the accusative-and-infinitive construction.

English:

• Grandmother says that wisdom does not always come...

Latin:

• Avia dicit sapientiam ... venire

So instead of a that-clause, Latin uses:

• accusative noun
  • infinitive

This is one of the most important differences between English and Latin syntax.

Here cum is a preposition meaning with.

It appears twice:

• cum annis = with years, or more naturally with age / as the years pass
• cum patientia et studio = with patience and study

The exact English wording can vary depending on context. In this sentence:

• cum annis suggests something happening along with growing older
• cum patientia et studio suggests growth happening through or along with patience and study

So cum is doing basically the same grammatical job in both phrases, even if the best English translation may differ slightly.

Because cum takes the ablative case when it means with.

So:

• annis = ablative plural of annus
• patientia = ablative singular of patientia
• studio = ablative singular of studium

This is completely normal Latin grammar:

• cum
  • ablative

So a learner should recognize these as prepositional phrases, not as subjects or direct objects.

It literally means with years, but in smoother English it often means:

• with age
• as the years pass
• simply by getting older

Latin often uses expressions that are more literal than the most natural English version. So cum annis does not mean that the years are physically accompanying wisdom; it means that wisdom is associated with advancing age.

Non semper means not always.

It tells us that the statement is not universally true:

• wisdom does not always come with age

This is different from saying wisdom never comes with age. Latin is being more nuanced: age alone is not a guaranteed source of wisdom.

Latin word order is flexible, so non semper venire is a natural way to place the adverbial idea near the verb it modifies.

The phrase emphasizes the verbal idea:

• not always to come

In English we might focus on fixed word order, but Latin uses order more freely for style, emphasis, and rhythm. The sentence would still be understandable if the words were arranged somewhat differently, as long as the cases and forms remained clear.

Sed means but. It sets up a contrast:

• wisdom does not always come with years,
• but it grows with patience and study

So the sentence contrasts two ideas:

1. something that is not guaranteed: wisdom coming with age
2. something presented as a truer path: wisdom growing through patience and study

This contrast is central to the meaning of the sentence.

Because the sentence makes a distinction between two ways of thinking about wisdom:

• venire = to come
• crescere = to grow

The point is that wisdom is not simply something that automatically arrives with age. Instead, it develops or grows through qualities like patience and study.

So the two verbs are not interchangeable; they support the contrast introduced by sed.

Avia is nominative singular, and it is the subject of dicit.

So:

• avia = grandmother
• dicit = says

Together:

• Avia dicit = Grandmother says

A native English speaker may also notice that Latin has no article here. Latin often omits words like the or a, so avia can mean grandmother, the grandmother, or a grandmother, depending on context.

Because Latin often avoids repeating a word when the meaning is already clear.

In this sentence, once sapientiam has been introduced as the subject of the indirect statement, it can continue to function with both infinitives:

• sapientiam ... venire
• sed ... crescere

Latin trusts the reader to carry the subject forward. English can do something similar:

• She says wisdom does not always come with age, but grows with patience and study.

So the omission is economical and natural.

Yes. Studium can mean study, but also eagerness, zeal, dedication, or application depending on context.

So cum patientia et studio could suggest:

• with patience and study
• with patience and dedication
• with patience and earnest effort

A learner should remember that many Latin nouns have a broader range of meaning than a single English gloss suggests.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Avia dicit = main clause: Grandmother says
• sapientiam ... venire ... crescere = indirect statement
• cum annis = prepositional phrase modifying venire
• non semper = adverbial phrase modifying venire
• sed = contrast
• cum patientia et studio = prepositional phrase modifying crescere

So the core skeleton is:

• Avia dicit sapientiam venire ... sed crescere ...

This is a very useful sentence for recognizing how Latin packs meaning into cases and infinitives rather than using more English-like clause structure.