Scriptor iuvenis dicit se artem picturae ab avia didicisse, sed usu etiam nunc meliorem fieri.

The sentence has:

• a main clause: Scriptor iuvenis dicit = The young writer says
• followed by an indirect statement: se ... didicisse ... sed ... fieri

So the overall pattern is:

[subject] + [main verb of saying] + [accusative + infinitive construction]

That is a very common Latin way to report what someone says, thinks, knows, or hears.

Here iuvenis is best taken as an adjective modifying scriptor:

• scriptor = writer
• iuvenis = young

So scriptor iuvenis means the young writer.

That said, iuvenis can also be a noun meaning young man or young person in other contexts. Latin often uses words that can function either as nouns or adjectives depending on context.

Se is the accusative reflexive pronoun, and here it is the subject of the infinitives inside the indirect statement.

After dicit, Latin does not usually say something like he says that he learned with a separate word for that. Instead it says:

• dicit se didicisse = literally, he says himself to have learned

More natural English: he says that he learned

Because se is reflexive, it refers back to the subject of dicit, namely scriptor iuvenis. So it means himself, not some other person.

Because classical Latin usually uses an accusative-and-infinitive construction after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, perceiving, and so on.

So instead of:

• He says that he learned

Latin often uses:

• dicit se didicisse

where:

• se = the subject of the reported statement, in the accusative
• didicisse = the infinitive

This is one of the most important sentence patterns in Latin.

Didicisse is the perfect active infinitive of disco, discere, didici = learn.

So:

• dicit se didicisse means he says that he learned / has learned

The perfect infinitive shows action that happened before the time of dicit. In other words, the learning happened earlier; the saying is happening now.

Artem is accusative singular, the direct object of didicisse.

Picturae is genitive singular, depending on artem.

So:

• ars = art, skill
• pictura = painting
• artem picturae = the art of painting or the skill of painting

A native English speaker may wonder whether picturae could be dative, since the form looks the same. Here it is genitive by sense and construction: the art of painting, not art to painting.

Avia is ablative singular, governed by ab.

So:

• ab avia = from his grandmother

With verbs of learning, Latin can use a/ab + ablative for the person from whom something is learned.

As for ab instead of a: both exist, but ab is especially normal before a vowel, and avia begins with a vowel.

Usu is the ablative singular of usus, a fourth-declension noun meaning use, practice, or experience.

Here it is an ablative of means or instrument:

• usu = by use, through practice, by experience

So the idea is that the young writer says he learned the art from his grandmother, but also becomes better through practice.

No preposition is needed, because Latin often uses the bare ablative to express means.

Etiam nunc means even now or still now, more naturally in English still or even now.

It emphasizes that the improvement is ongoing:

• not only did he learn in the past,
• he is still improving now.

So it contrasts nicely with didicisse, which refers to an earlier completed act of learning.

Fieri is the present infinitive of fio, which often means become or come to be.

So:

• meliorem fieri = to become better

That is different from simply being better. The sentence is describing a process of improvement, not a fixed state.

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• maior fieri = become greater
• peior fieri = become worse
• meliorem fieri = become better

Meliorem is accusative singular because it agrees with the accusative subject of the infinitive, namely se.

So the structure is:

• se ... meliorem fieri = that he is becoming better

Because se is masculine here in sense, meliorem is masculine accusative singular. Conveniently, the masculine and feminine accusative singular form of melior is the same: meliorem.

This is a predicate adjective inside the indirect statement.

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

So the sentence means:

• dicit se artem picturae ab avia didicisse
• sed [se] usu etiam nunc meliorem fieri

Latin often states the subject once and lets it carry over when the structure is parallel. Repeating se would be possible, but it is not necessary.

Latin word order is flexible, but it is rarely random.

This order helps the sentence unfold clearly:

• Scriptor iuvenis introduces the person
• dicit signals that reported speech is coming
• se ... didicisse gives the first reported idea
• sed marks the contrast
• usu etiam nunc highlights the means and the ongoing time
• meliorem fieri finishes with the idea of continued improvement

Because Latin relies heavily on case endings, word order can be used for emphasis and flow more than for basic grammar.