Regina dicit se imperium non cupiditate, sed pacis causa suscipere.

The sentence has two layers:

• Main clause: Regina dicit = The queen says
• Indirect statement: se imperium non cupiditate, sed pacis causa suscipere = that she is taking up power not out of ambition, but for the sake of peace

A very literal breakdown would be:

• Regina = the queen
• dicit = says
• se = herself / that she
• imperium = power, rule, command, empire
• non cupiditate = not from desire/ambition
• sed pacis causa = but for the sake of peace
• suscipere = to undertake, take up, assume

So the key grammar point is that Latin uses accusative + infinitive for reported speech instead of an English that-clause.

Se is the reflexive pronoun, and it refers back to the subject of the main verb, here regina.

So:

• Regina dicit se... suscipere = The queen says that she herself is undertaking...

Latin uses se in indirect statement when the subject of the infinitive is the same person as the subject of the main verb.

If Latin used eam instead, it would normally mean:

• The queen says that her / that another woman is undertaking...

So se makes it clear that the queen is talking about herself.

Because after dicit, Latin usually expresses reported speech with an indirect statement, also called the accusative-and-infinitive construction.

In English, we say:

• The queen says that she is undertaking power

In Latin, that becomes:

• Regina dicit se imperium suscipere

So instead of a separate finite verb like suscipit, Latin uses the infinitive suscipere, and the subject of that infinitive appears in the accusative: se.

In an indirect statement, Latin puts the subject of the infinitive into the accusative case.

So in:

• se ... suscipere

se is the subject of suscipere, but because this is an indirect statement after dicit, it must be accusative.

This is one of the most important Latin patterns to learn:

• dicit
  • accusative subject
    • infinitive

Example pattern:

• Puella dicit se venire = The girl says that she is coming

Here, se is not the object of dicit in the ordinary sense; it is the accusative subject of the infinitive.

Imperium is accusative singular neuter.

Here it is the direct object of suscipere:

• suscipere imperium = to take up / assume power

So the structure inside the indirect statement is:

• se = subject of the infinitive
• imperium = object of the infinitive
• suscipere = infinitive verb

In other words, she is undertaking power/rule/command.

It can mean several related things, depending on context:

• command
• authority
• rule
• supreme power
• sometimes empire

In this sentence, imperium most likely means political power, rule, or authority, rather than the physical territory of an empire.

So a natural sense is:

• to assume power
• to take up rule
• to undertake the government

A learner should be careful not to assume that imperium always means only empire in the modern territorial sense.

Cupiditate is in the ablative singular, from cupiditas.

Here it expresses cause or motive:

• non cupiditate = not out of desire/ambition
• more literally, not by desire or not from ambition

Latin often uses the ablative without a preposition to express ideas that English may translate with:

• from
• out of
• because of
• through

So the lack of a preposition is normal Latin idiom.

Pacis causa means for the sake of peace.

This is a standard Latin expression:

• genitive + causa
• literally something like because of peace or for peace’s sake

So:

• pacis = genitive singular of pax, meaning of peace
• causa = for the sake of

The important thing is that causa often acts almost like a postposition, meaning it comes after the noun it governs:

• pacis causa = for the sake of peace
• compare gloriae causa = for the sake of glory

So although causa is a noun in origin, in this kind of phrase it behaves much like a fixed idiom.

Non ... sed ... is a very common Latin pair meaning:

• not ... but ...

So:

• non cupiditate, sed pacis causa
• not out of ambition, but for the sake of peace

It sets up a contrast between two motives:

1. the motive being denied: cupiditate
2. the motive being asserted: pacis causa

This is exactly like English not X, but Y.

The basic meaning of suscipere is to take up, undertake, assume, or receive.

In this sentence, with imperium, it means something like:

• to assume power
• to take up rule
• to undertake the government

So it does not mean merely pick up in a physical sense. It has a more political or formal meaning here.

A good natural translation is:

• to assume authority
• to take on the rule

Latin word order is much freer than English because the grammar is shown mainly by case endings, not by position.

So Latin can arrange words for emphasis or style. In this sentence:

• Regina comes first to set the speaker clearly.
• se appears early because it is important to establish who is undertaking the action.
• non cupiditate, sed pacis causa is placed before suscipere to emphasize the contrast in motives.
• suscipere comes at the end, which is very common in Latin.

An English speaker may expect a fixed order like:

• The queen says that she is undertaking power not out of ambition but for the sake of peace

But Latin is comfortable with a more flexible arrangement because the endings already tell you the grammatical roles.

Yes. In fact, that is usually the best way to translate it naturally.

Latin often does not use a separate word meaning that after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, and perceiving. Instead, it uses the accusative-and-infinitive construction.

So:

• Regina dicit se imperium suscipere

is best understood as:

• The queen says that she is undertaking power

Even though there is no single Latin word here that directly equals English that, the whole construction carries that meaning.

In theory, cupiditas can mean desire, eagerness, or longing, but in political contexts it often has a negative sense:

• greed
• ambition
• lust for power

Because the sentence contrasts cupiditate with pacis causa, the negative sense is probably intended. The queen is defending her motives:

• not from ambition
• not from lust for power
• but for the sake of peace

So ambition is often the most natural English choice here.