In hac domo modestia et bonitas plus valent quam pecunia, et ideo hospites hic libenter manent.

Hac domo is ablative singular feminine.

That is because in takes the ablative when it means in or inside in the sense of location, not motion.

So:

• in hac domo = in this house
• if it meant motion into the house, Latin would use the accusative: in hanc domum = into this house

Also note that domo comes from domus, an irregular noun meaning house or home.

Because hac has to agree with domo.

Here:

• domo is ablative singular feminine
• so the demonstrative must also be ablative singular feminine
• that form is hac

Haec would not fit here. It can be:

• nominative singular feminine
• nominative/accusative plural neuter

So after in with a location meaning, hac is the correct form.

They are all nominative here.

• modestia = nominative singular
• bonitas = nominative singular
• pecunia = nominative singular
• hospites = nominative plural

Why?

• modestia et bonitas are the subject of valent
• pecunia is the thing being compared after quam
• hospites is the subject of manent

A useful point: although modestia and bonitas are each singular, together they form a compound subject, so the verb is plural: valent.

Because two singular nouns joined by et normally make a plural subject.

So:

• modestia = modesty
• bonitas = kindness/goodness
• modestia et bonitas = modesty and kindness

Since there are two things acting as the subject, Latin uses the plural verb:

• valent = they are strong / they count for more / they are worth more

This is the same basic idea as in English: modesty and kindness are, not modesty and kindness is.

Literally, valent comes from valeo, which can mean things like:

• be strong
• be well
• have power
• have value

In this sentence, it means something like:

• count for more
• have greater value
• matter more

So plus valent quam pecunia means that modesty and kindness matter more than money or are worth more than money.

That is a very common kind of meaning for valeo in Latin.

Because plus is very natural with a verb like valeo when the idea is more in the sense of greater value or greater weight.

So:

• plus valent = they are worth more / they count for more

Magis also means more, but it is often used in somewhat different ways, especially with adjectives, adverbs, or general degrees of comparison.

With valeo, plus valet / plus valent is a very common and idiomatic way to express has greater value or matters more.

Because after quam, Latin often keeps the compared word in the same case it would have in the full clause.

The full sense is:

• modestia et bonitas plus valent quam pecunia valet

Since pecunia would be the subject of the understood verb valet, it stays nominative.

So:

• modestia et bonitas = subject of valent
• pecunia = understood subject of valet

English does something similar when we say more than money without repeating the whole verb.

Ideo means:

• therefore
• for that reason
• so

In this sentence, it introduces the result of the first statement:

• because modesty and kindness matter more than money in this house,
• therefore guests gladly stay here

The phrase et ideo means and therefore or and so.

Yes, they both refer to the same place, but they do slightly different jobs in the sentence.

• in hac domo sets the scene at the beginning: in this house
• hic later refers back to that place: here

So the sentence first says what values are important in this house, and then says that guests gladly stay here.

This is not bad repetition. It is a natural way to keep the location clear and emphasize it.

Here hic is an adverb, meaning here.

That is different from the demonstrative adjective/pronoun hic, haec, hoc, meaning this.

So in this sentence:

• hac in in hac domo is the demonstrative adjective: this
• hic later in the sentence is the adverb: here

They look related because they are related, but they are doing different grammatical jobs.

Libenter is an adverb meaning:

• gladly
• willingly
• with pleasure

It modifies manent:

• manent = they remain / stay
• libenter manent = they stay gladly / they are glad to stay

So the sentence does not just say that the guests stay there physically. It says they stay there happily or willingly.

Because Latin normally does not have articles.

So words like:

• domo
• pecunia
• hospites

can mean, depending on context:

• a house / the house
• money / the money
• guests / the guests

English translations have to choose what sounds right, but Latin itself usually leaves that to context.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings show the grammatical roles.

So this sentence could be rearranged in various ways without changing the basic meaning. However, the actual order helps with emphasis and flow:

• In hac domo comes first to set the scene
• modestia et bonitas comes early because these are the important values
• plus valent quam pecunia gives the comparison
• et ideo hospites hic libenter manent gives the result

So the word order is not random. It is stylistic and emphatic, even though the grammar would still be understandable in a different order.