Discipula rogat cur lictores fasces gerant; magistra respondet eos imperii signum esse.

Because cur lictores fasces gerant is an indirect question after rogat.

In Latin, indirect questions normally take the subjunctive, not the indicative. So:

• gerunt = they carry in a normal statement
• gerant = they carry in an indirect question

Here cur means why, and the whole clause means why the lictors carry the fasces.

Lictores is the subject of gerant, and fasces is its direct object.

A learner may hesitate because fasces can look like either nominative plural or accusative plural. In this sentence, though, the structure makes things clear:

• lictores = the people doing the carrying
• fasces = the thing being carried

So the sense and syntax together show that lictores is the subject and fasces is the object.

Because fasces is normally a plural word in this Roman political sense.

The fasces were a bundle of rods, so the plural form is natural. Latin often refers to this emblem as fasces, not as a singular item. That is also why the later pronoun is plural: eos.

Because Latin often does not use a separate word meaning that after verbs of saying, thinking, answering, knowing, and so on.

Instead, it uses an indirect statement, usually with:

• an accusative subject
• an infinitive

So:

• magistra respondet = the teacher answers
• eos imperii signum esse = that they are a sign of authority

This is a very common Latin pattern.

In an indirect statement, the subject of the infinitive goes into the accusative.

So in eos imperii signum esse:

• eos is the subject of esse
• but because the clause is an indirect statement, it appears in the accusative

This is often called the accusative-and-infinitive construction.

By sense, eos most naturally refers to fasces.

That said, there is an important detail: grammatically, eos could refer to either lictores or fasces, because both are masculine plural. The context makes fasces the natural choice, since the teacher is explaining what the fasces represent.

So the meaning is essentially: the teacher answers that the fasces are a sign of authority.

Because it depends on signum.

Imperii signum means a sign of authority / command / imperium. The genitive tells you what the sign is a sign of.

So:

• signum = sign, symbol
• imperii = of authority, of command

This is a very common use of the genitive in Latin.

Because several things can together count as one sign or one symbol.

So even though eos is plural, Latin can still say signum esse if the idea is that those fasces, taken together, function as a single emblem of authority.

English can do the same thing:

• The fasces are a symbol of authority.

Also, in form signum could be nominative or accusative singular, but here it is functioning as the predicate noun in the indirect statement.