Avia dicebat se, hostibus procul visis, numquam fugam statim bonam putare, sed semper praesidium et pacem quaerere.

The sentence has:

• a main verb: dicebat
• an indirect statement depending on dicebat: se ... putare ... sed ... quaerere
• an inserted ablative absolute: hostibus procul visis

So the skeleton is:

Avia dicebat se numquam fugam statim bonam putare, sed semper praesidium et pacem quaerere.

Then hostibus procul visis is added in the middle to give the circumstance: when the enemies had been seen far away / with the enemies seen in the distance.

Dicebat is imperfect, so it suggests something like:

• was saying
• used to say
• kept saying

In a sentence like this, English often uses used to say or would say, because it sounds like a habitual opinion or repeated advice from the grandmother.

Because after a verb of saying, thinking, knowing, and similar verbs, Latin often uses an indirect statement.

In this construction, Latin uses:

• an accusative subject
• plus an infinitive verb

So:

• se ... putare = that she thought
• se ... quaerere = that she sought

This is one of the most important Latin constructions to learn. English usually uses that, but Latin usually does not.

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

So:

• avia dicebat se... = the grandmother said that she herself...

If Latin used eam, that would normally mean her as some other female person, not the grandmother herself.

So se is used because the subject inside the indirect statement is the same person as the subject of dicebat.

Yes. Se is the subject of both infinitives.

So the sense is:

• she considered...
• and she sought...

Latin often states the accusative subject once and lets it apply to multiple infinitives.

This is an ablative absolute.

It consists of:

• hostibus — a noun in the ablative plural
• visis — a participle in the ablative plural, agreeing with hostibus
• procul — an adverb, far away / in the distance

Literally, it is something like:

• with the enemies having been seen far away

More naturally in English:

• when the enemies had been seen in the distance
• once the enemies were seen far off

An ablative absolute gives background circumstance: time, cause, condition, or situation.

Because they form the ablative absolute together.

Also, visis must agree with hostibus, so both are:

• ablative
• plural

Hostibus is plural because hostes means enemies.

Visis is the perfect passive participle of videre.

Its basic idea is:

• seen
• having been seen

So hostibus visis means with the enemies seen or when the enemies had been seen.

Because it is passive, the phrase does not directly say who saw the enemies. The context supplies that idea.

Procul is an adverb meaning far away, at a distance, or far off.

Here it goes with the idea of visis:

• hostibus procul visis = when the enemies were seen far away

It is not an adjective agreeing with hostibus. It is an adverb describing the circumstance of the seeing.

Fugam is a noun, from fuga, meaning flight, fleeing, or retreat.

It is accusative because it is the object of putare in the expression:

• fugam bonam putare

That means:

• to think flight good
• to consider flight a good thing

A learner might expect a verb like fugere, but here Latin uses the noun fuga.

Because it agrees with fugam:

• fugam = feminine singular accusative
• bonam = feminine singular accusative

With verbs like putare, Latin often uses a predicate accusative:

• fugam bonam putare = to consider flight good

So bonam is describing fugam, not some hidden feminine noun.

Normally, no need to supply one here.

This is a standard pattern with putare:

• aliquid bonum putare = to think something good
• to consider something good

So fugam bonam putare is complete as it stands.

A learner might mentally compare it to fugam bonam esse putare, but the simpler pattern without esse is very common and natural.

Statim means immediately, at once, or straight away.

Here it goes with the idea of judging flight to be the right response:

• numquam fugam statim bonam putare

So the sense is not just never think flight is good, but more specifically never think immediate flight is the right thing.

It adds an important nuance: the grandmother is rejecting a hasty reaction.

Because they are the direct objects of quaerere:

• praesidium quaerere = to seek protection / a defensive position / support
• pacem quaerere = to seek peace

So both nouns are accusative singular.

Praesidium can mean several related things, such as:

• protection
• defense
• help
• a guard
• a garrison
• a defensive post

In this sentence, the most natural sense is probably something like protection or defensive support, especially since it is contrasted with immediate flight.

This is a clear contrast:

• numquam = never
• sed semper = but always

So the grandmother’s principle is presented in two balanced parts:

• never do X
• but always do Y

This kind of pairing is very common in Latin and helps make the sentence easy to follow.

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

So Latin can place words for:

• emphasis
• rhythm
• clarity
• style

For example:

• se comes early to introduce the subject of the indirect statement
• hostibus procul visis is inserted as background circumstance
• numquam and semper are placed prominently to highlight the contrast
• bonam comes after statim, even though it belongs with fugam

In other words, the sentence is not random; the endings carry the grammar, and the order helps shape emphasis.

Yes. Ablative absolutes often allow several natural English translations.

Possible versions include:

• when the enemies had been seen in the distance
• once the enemies were seen far away
• on seeing the enemies far off
• with the enemies seen far off

The Latin form itself does not force just one English wording. The important thing is the circumstance: the enemies have been noticed at a distance.