Orator in contione loquens a multis civibus auditur.

The main verb is auditur.

It is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• passive voice

So the core of the sentence is Orator ... auditur = The speaker/orator is heard.

Everything else adds more information:

• in contione = where
• loquens = what the orator is doing
• a multis civibus = by whom he is heard

Because auditur agrees with the subject, not with the agent in the a/ab phrase.

The subject is orator = the speaker/orator, which is singular.

So:

• orator = singular subject
• auditur = singular verb
• a multis civibus = by many citizens, the people doing the hearing in a passive construction

In English too, we say:

• The speaker is heard by many citizens

not:

• The speaker are heard by many citizens

Orator is nominative singular.

That makes it the subject of auditur.

A good basic rule is:

• in a passive sentence, the thing or person being acted on is in the nominative
• the doer of the action is often put in a/ab + ablative

So here:

• orator = the one being heard → nominative subject
• a multis civibus = by many citizens → agent

Loquens is the present active participle of loquor, meaning speaking.

It describes orator:

• orator loquens = the speaker speaking, or more naturally, the speaker who is speaking

In smoother English, you might understand it as:

• the speaker, while speaking, is heard by many citizens
• the speaker speaking in the assembly is heard by many citizens

So loquens adds an ongoing action that belongs to the orator.

Yes. Loquor is a deponent verb.

That means:

• it has passive-looking forms
• but an active meaning

So:

• loquor looks passive, but means I speak
• loquens means speaking

This is completely normal for deponent verbs. Even though the verb looks passive in some forms, its participle here has an active sense.

Yes.

Loquens is nominative singular, agreeing with orator in:

• case
• number
• gender

So it is functioning like an adjective:

• orator loquens = the speaking orator / the orator who is speaking

Even though a participle comes from a verb, it still behaves like an adjective in agreement.

Because loquens is not being used as part of a finite verb phrase like is speaking. It is simply modifying orator.

So this is not:

• the orator is speaking

It is more like:

• the orator, speaking in the assembly, is heard by many citizens

Latin often uses participles where English might prefer a relative clause or a subordinate clause.

So loquens here is descriptive, not the main verb.

In contione means in the assembly, at the public meeting, or before the gathered crowd.

Here in takes the ablative because it expresses location:

• in + ablative = in / on / at a place
• in + accusative = into / onto a place, showing motion toward it

So:

• in contione = in the assembly / at the assembly
• if it were motion into the assembly, you would expect in contionem

A contio is a public gathering or assembly, especially one where people listen to a speaker.

It is not exactly the same as every possible Latin word for assembly. In Roman usage, contio often suggests:

• a public meeting
• a crowd assembled to hear speeches
• a political or civic gathering

So in this sentence, in contione loquens gives a very Roman public-speaking setting: the orator is speaking before an assembled body of citizens.

Because with a passive verb, the personal agent is normally expressed by a/ab + ablative.

Here the citizens are the people who perform the action of hearing, so Latin says:

• a multis civibus = by many citizens

This is the normal way to mark the agent of a passive verb when the agent is a person or persons.

So:

• auditur a multis civibus = he is heard by many citizens

It is ablative plural.

Both words are ablative plural:

• multis = many
• civibus = citizens

They are in the ablative because they follow a in a passive-agent phrase:

• a multis civibus = by many citizens

By itself, civibus could be dative plural or ablative plural, because the forms are the same.

But in this sentence, the preposition a tells you it must be ablative:

• a multis civibus = by many citizens

So there is no ambiguity once the whole phrase is considered.

All three can work, depending on how literal or natural you want to be.

Possible ways to understand it:

• the speaker speaking in the assembly is heard by many citizens

  • very literal

• the speaker, while speaking in the assembly, is heard by many citizens

  • shows the participle as a simultaneous action

• the speaker who is speaking in the assembly is heard by many citizens

  • turns the participle into a relative clause

Latin participles are often broader and more compact than English ones, so English may need different wording to sound natural.

Yes, it is normal Latin word order.

The sentence is:

• Orator — subject first
• in contione loquens — descriptive phrase in the middle
• a multis civibus — agent
• auditur — main verb at the end

This is very natural in Latin, where the finite verb often comes last.

The order also helps the sentence unfold neatly:

1. who we are talking about: orator
2. what he is doing: in contione loquens
3. by whom he is heard: a multis civibus
4. main action: auditur

Latin word order is flexible, but this arrangement is quite ordinary and elegant.

Yes, in broad terms.

For example, Latin could also say things like:

• Orator a multis civibus in contione loquens auditur
• In contione loquens orator a multis civibus auditur

The basic grammatical relationships would still be clear because of the endings:

• orator = nominative subject
• a multis civibus = ablative agent
• auditur = passive verb
• loquens = participle agreeing with orator

However, different word orders can shift emphasis slightly.

The passive puts the focus on orator, the person being heard.

Passive:

• Orator ... auditur = The speaker ... is heard

Active would be:

• Multi cives oratorem ... audiunt = Many citizens hear the speaker

Both are possible, but the passive makes the speaker the grammatical center of the sentence.

Latin, like English, often uses the passive when the person or thing affected by the action is the main topic.

Yes.

You can treat it as a noun phrase meaning something like:

• the orator speaking in the assembly
• the speaker who is speaking in the assembly

Within that phrase:

• orator is the noun
• loquens modifies it
• in contione modifies loquens

So the structure is roughly:

• [orator [in contione loquens]] auditur

That is, the orator [speaking in the assembly] is heard.

Yes—this sentence is a good example of several very common Latin features working together:

1. Passive verb

   • auditur = is heard

2. Agent with a/ab + ablative

   • a multis civibus = by many citizens

3. Present participle

   • loquens = speaking

4. Participle agreeing with a noun

   • loquens agrees with orator

5. in + ablative for location

   • in contione = in/at the assembly

If you can recognize those five things, the whole sentence becomes much easier to parse.