Pater dicit bonum publicum melius esse quam commodum privatum.

Because Latin often uses an accusative-and-infinitive construction instead of a finite clause introduced by that.

So instead of saying something like Father says that the public good is better than private advantage, Latin says, more literally:

Father says the public good to be better than private advantage.

That sounds strange in English, but it is perfectly normal in Latin.

In this sentence:

• dicit = he says
• bonum publicum ... esse = the indirect statement, literally the public good to be ...

This is one of the most important Latin constructions to learn.

Because it is part of that indirect statement after dicit.

After verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, hearing, and similar ideas, Latin commonly uses:

• an accusative subject
• plus an infinitive verb

So here:

• bonum publicum is the subject of the indirect statement
• esse is the infinitive verb
• melius is the predicate complement with esse

If Latin used est, that would make it a direct statement: bonum publicum melius est quam commodum privatum = the public good is better than private advantage.

But after dicit, Latin switches to esse.

Because in an accusative-and-infinitive construction, the subject of the infinitive goes into the accusative case.

So even though bonum publicum is logically the thing that is better, it is grammatically accusative because it is the subject of esse inside indirect speech.

That is why we get:

• bonum publicum rather than nominative bonum publicum?
  In this particular phrase, nominative and accusative neuter singular look the same, so the form itself does not change.

This is important: the phrase is functioning as an accusative subject, even though the neuter nominative and accusative forms are identical.

You know it from the construction, not from the ending alone.

After dicit, when Latin introduces indirect statement, you expect:

• accusative subject
• infinitive verb

So bonum publicum ... esse strongly signals indirect statement.

Also, commodum privatum is after quam in a comparison and is in the same form, so the sentence structure helps you understand what is going on.

Neuter singular nominative and accusative often look identical in Latin, so learners must rely on syntax as well as endings.

Because melius is the neuter nominative/accusative singular form of the comparative adjective melior, melius = better.

Since bonum publicum is neuter singular, the comparative must agree with it in gender and number, so Latin uses melius.

Compare:

• masculine/feminine singular: melior
• neuter singular: melius

So:

• vir melior = a better man
• femina melior = a better woman
• bonum melius = a better good / the better thing

Here, bonum publicum is neuter, so melius is required.

Here they are being used as neuter nouns/adjectives referring to abstract things.

Latin often uses a neuter adjective or neuter substantive to express an abstract idea, especially with words like:

• bonum = good, a good thing
• commodum = advantage, benefit, convenience

Then the adjectives agree with them:

• publicum with bonum
• privatum with commodum

So:

• bonum publicum = the public good
• commodum privatum = private advantage

This neuter usage is very common in Latin.

Quam means than in a comparison.

So:

• melius ... quam ... = better ... than ...

Here the comparison is:

• bonum publicum is better
• than commodum privatum

This is the standard Latin way to make a straightforward comparison with a comparative adjective.

Sometimes yes, but not here in the most natural way.

Latin often allows two comparison patterns:

1. comparative + quam + same case
2. comparative + ablative

For example:

• hic vir melior quam ille = this man is better than that man
• hic vir illo melior = this man is better than that man

But when the compared expressions are more complex, quam is often clearer and more natural. In this sentence, quam commodum privatum neatly marks the second item in the comparison.

So quam is the expected and easiest form here.

Because Latin adjective placement is flexible, and putting the adjective after the noun is very common.

So both of these are normal:

• bonum publicum
• publicum bonum

Likewise:

• commodum privatum
• privatum commodum

Latin word order is not as fixed as English word order. Endings show the grammatical relationships, so the author has more freedom in arranging words.

That said, some orders may sound more natural or stylistically better in a given context.

Yes.

Pater is nominative singular and is the subject of dicit:

• Pater dicit = Father says / The father says

Then everything after that—bonum publicum melius esse quam commodum privatum—is what he says.

So the sentence breaks down like this:

• Pater = subject
• dicit = main verb
• bonum publicum melius esse quam commodum privatum = indirect statement

It can mean either, depending on context.

Latin does not have articles like a or the, so pater could be translated as:

• father
• the father
• sometimes even my father if the context makes that clear

The sentence by itself does not force one single English article.

It is accusative neuter singular, matching the structure of the comparison within the indirect statement.

Because quam often compares like with like, the second item commonly appears in the same case as the first. Here:

• bonum publicum = accusative neuter singular
• commodum privatum = accusative neuter singular

Again, since they are neuter singular, nominative and accusative look the same, but the syntax points to accusative.

Yes, to a large extent.

Latin could rearrange this sentence in several ways and still keep the same core meaning, for example:

• Pater dicit bonum publicum quam commodum privatum melius esse.
• Bonum publicum pater dicit melius esse quam commodum privatum.

The endings and the infinitive construction do most of the grammatical work.

However, changing word order can affect:

• emphasis
• style
• clarity
• rhythm

So while the basic meaning remains the same, the feel of the sentence may change.

Yes.

Together, melius esse means to be better.

So the indirect statement can be read as:

• bonum publicum melius esse quam commodum privatum
• the public good to be better than private advantage

or in natural English:

• that the public good is better than private advantage

This is a useful chunk to recognize: comparative adjective + esse often works like to be more/better/etc.

It is a very natural Latin expression.

Latin often expresses abstract ideas with a neuter adjective used substantively, and bonum publicum became a standard way to mean public good or common good.

Likewise, commodum privatum is a natural expression for private advantage or personal benefit.

So this sentence is not just grammatically correct; it also uses idiomatic vocabulary for a moral or political contrast.