Magistra dicit: “Discite non verba tantum, sed etiam usum verborum; sic enim bona lectio et bonus auctor vobis diu utiles erunt.”

Because this sentence uses direct speech: we are given the teacher’s words as spoken.

• Magistra dicit: Discite ...
• literally, The teacher says: Learn ...

Latin often uses an accusative-and-infinitive construction for indirect speech, but it does not have to. Here the author simply chooses to quote the command directly.

Discite is the 2nd person plural present active imperative of discere.

So it means learn! when speaking to more than one person.

A quick comparison:

• disce = learn! (to one person)
• discite = learn! (to more than one person)

That fits a teacher addressing a group.

This is a very common Latin pairing meaning not only ... but also ...

So:

• non verba tantum
• sed etiam usum verborum

means: not only words, but also the use of words.

Notice that tantum goes with the first part, and sed etiam introduces the second part that is being added.

No. Here tantum is best understood as an adverb, meaning only.

So verba tantum means only words, not so many words or anything like that.

If it were an adjective agreeing with verba, it would be doing a different job. In this sentence, it limits the whole idea: learn not only words.

They are:

• verba = accusative plural
• usum = accusative singular
• verborum = genitive plural

Why?

• discite takes an object, so verba and usum are both objects of the command.
• verborum depends on usum and means of words.

So the structure is:

• learn words
• and also learn the use of words

Because Latin is expressing a relationship: the use of words.

That relationship is commonly shown with the genitive:

• usus verborum = use of words
• usum verborum = use of words in the accusative, because it is the object of discite

So verborum is not a second object by itself; it depends on usum.

Because usus is a 4th-declension noun, and here it is in the accusative singular.

Its principal forms are:

• nominative: usus
• accusative: usum

So discite usum verborum means learn the use of words.

This is worth noticing because usus does not decline like a regular 2nd-declension noun.

Because enim is a postpositive word in Latin. That means it usually comes after the first word or phrase of its clause, not before it.

So:

• sic enim ...

is normal Latin word order.

A learner may expect enim sic, but enim usually does not stand first.

Sic means thus, in this way, or so.

It points back to the command just given:

• learn not only words, but also their use;
• in this way / thus, good reading and a good author will be useful to you.

So sic connects the advice with its result.

Because the nouns have different genders:

• lectio is feminine
• auctor is masculine

Adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case:

• bona lectio
• bonus auctor

The endings are different because the nouns are different in gender.

Because together they form a compound subject:

• bona lectio et bonus auctor

Even though each noun is singular by itself, the two together mean a good reading and a good author, so the verb is plural:

• erunt = will be

And utiles is plural for the same reason: it describes both nouns together.

Utiles is a predicate adjective agreeing with the compound subject:

• bona lectio et bonus auctor ... utiles erunt

It agrees with both lectio and auctor together.

Since the adjective utilis, utile has the same nominative plural form for masculine and feminine, utiles works neatly with this mixed pair.

Because utilis commonly takes the dative of the person or thing something is useful to.

So:

• vobis utiles = useful to you

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• mihi utilis = useful to me
• nobis utilis = useful to us
• vobis utiles = useful to you

Because the sentence is expressing a result that will follow from obeying the command.

The sense is:

• Learn this way now,
• and then good reading and a good author will be useful to you for a long time.

So the future fits the logic of advice leading to a future benefit.

Diu is an adverb meaning for a long time.

It modifies the verbal idea in:

• vobis diu utiles erunt

So the meaning is that they will be useful to you for a long time.

It does not describe lectio or auctor directly; it describes the duration of their usefulness.

Because Latin word order is much freer than English word order, since Latin endings show the grammatical relationships.

For example:

• verba is recognized as an object by its case
• verborum is recognized as genitive by its ending
• vobis is recognized as dative
• erunt shows the verb clearly

That means Latin can arrange words for emphasis, balance, and style more easily than English can. In this sentence, the order helps highlight the contrast:

• non verba tantum, sed etiam usum verborum