Post contionem duo discipuli inter se disputant utrum decretum consulis an responsum praetoris prudentius fuerit.

Because post is a preposition that takes the accusative when it means after.

So:

• post contionem = after the assembly / after the speech

The noun here is contio, contionis (feminine), and contionem is its accusative singular form.

Contio usually refers to a public meeting, assembly, or public address/speech.

In Roman context, it often means an official gathering where someone speaks to the people. So post contionem could be understood as:

• after the public meeting
• after the speech
• after the assembly

The exact nuance depends on context.

Duo discipuli is the subject of the sentence:

• duo = two
• discipuli = students, nominative plural masculine

Because the subject is plural, the verb is also plural:

• disputant = they discuss / they argue

So the agreement is straightforward:

• duo discipuli ... disputant = two students ... argue

Inter se means with each other, among themselves, or between themselves.

Literally:

• inter = among / between
• se = themselves / each other

So duo discipuli inter se disputant means that the two students are debating with one another, not just speaking in general.

Utrum ... an is a standard Latin pair meaning whether ... or.

Here it introduces two alternatives:

• utrum decretum consulis
• an responsum praetoris

So the students are debating whether the consul’s decree or the praetor’s response was the wiser one.

This is a very common way to set up an either/or question in Latin, especially in an indirect question.

They are genitive singular because they depend on the nouns before them:

• decretum consulis = the decree of the consul
• responsum praetoris = the response of the praetor

This is the normal Latin way to express possession or close association.

Forms:

• consul, consulis = consul
• praetor, praetoris = praetor

So both genitives tell you whose decree and whose response.

Here it is best understood as a comparative adjective, meaning wiser.

That can be confusing because prudentius also looks like the comparative adverb form, meaning more wisely. But in this sentence it goes with the neuter singular nouns:

• decretum = neuter singular
• responsum = neuter singular

The comparative adjective prudentior, prudentius has neuter singular prudentius, so it matches those nouns.

So:

• decretum ... prudentius fuerit = the decree was wiser
• not acted more wisely

English makes this distinction clearer than Latin does in this form.

Because the clause introduced by utrum ... an is an indirect question, and indirect questions in Latin normally take the subjunctive.

The students are not directly asking:

• utrum ... an ... ?

Instead, the sentence says that they are debating whether one thing or the other was wiser.

So the subjunctive is triggered by the indirect-question construction.

Fuerit is the perfect subjunctive of sum.

In this sentence, it is not future perfect. It is perfect subjunctive because:

1. the clause is an indirect question, so it needs the subjunctive
2. the action is viewed as prior to the present verb disputant

So the sense is:

• they are debating now
• about which thing was wiser

In natural English, you would usually translate it simply as was, even though the Latin form is perfect subjunctive.

Yes. One fuerit serves both alternatives.

So the structure is basically:

• whether the consul’s decree was wiser
• or the praetor’s response was wiser

Latin often avoids repeating a word when it can be understood with both parts of a pair.

Latin word order is flexible, but this sentence is arranged quite neatly:

• Post contionem sets the scene first: after the assembly
• duo discipuli gives the subject
• inter se disputant gives the main action
• utrum ... an ... introduces the two alternatives
• prudentius fuerit comes at the end of the subordinate clause

A few stylistic points:

• putting post contionem first gives the time frame immediately
• inter se sits close to disputant, which helps the sense argue with each other
• the pair utrum ... an clearly frames the two choices
• Latin often places the verb of a subordinate clause near the end, as with fuerit

So the word order is not random; it helps organize the sentence logically.