Pater dicit se gloriam sine bono communi spernere.

Se is the accusative reflexive pronoun. In this sentence, it refers back to the subject of the main verb, pater.

So:

• pater dicit = the father says
• se ... spernere = that he despises ...

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

So se here means himself / he, referring to pater.

Because Latin is using an indirect statement after dicit.

A very common Latin pattern is:

• verb of saying/thinking/perceiving
• • accusative subject
• • infinitive

So instead of saying something literally like Father says that he despises glory, Latin says:

• Pater dicit se gloriam ... spernere

This is called the accusative-and-infinitive construction.

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

So even though se is logically the subject of spernere, it appears in the accusative because that is how Latin builds indirect statement.

Compare the structure:

• pater = subject of dicit
• se = subject of spernere, but in accusative because of indirect statement

Gloriam is accusative singular.

It is accusative because it is the direct object of spernere.

So:

• se = subject of the infinitive
• gloriam = object of the infinitive
• spernere = to despise / reject / scorn

In other words, he despises glory.

Bono communi is ablative singular.

It is ablative because it follows the preposition sine, which takes the ablative.

So:

• sine = without
• bono communi = the common good in the ablative after sine

If it were standing alone as a subject or object, you might expect bonum commune, but after sine Latin requires:

• sine bono communi

Yes. They agree with each other and form one phrase:

• bono = good
• communi = common

Together: bono communi = common good

Both are:

• ablative
• singular
• neuter

So communi is simply the adjective agreeing with bono.

Grammatically, it is a prepositional phrase modifying the idea of gloriam.

The sense is:

• glory without the common good
• or glory when it is not accompanied by the common good

So the father is not just rejecting glory in general, but specifically glory considered apart from, or lacking, the common good.

Because pater is still the subject of the main verb dicit.

In this sentence there are really two layers:

1. Main clause:

   • Pater dicit = The father says

2. Indirect statement:

   • se gloriam sine bono communi spernere = that he despises glory without the common good

So:

• pater is nominative because it is the subject of the finite verb dicit
• se is accusative because it is the subject of the infinitive spernere

Spernere is a present active infinitive.

In indirect statement, the present infinitive usually shows action happening at the same time as the main verb.

So:

• dicit ... spernere = he says that he despises / he says that he is despising

In natural English, he says that he despises is the best rendering.

Normally, no. In a sentence like this, se naturally refers back to the subject of the main clause, which is pater.

That is one of the main jobs of the reflexive pronoun in Latin: it points back to the grammatical subject of its own clause or governing statement.

So the normal reading is:

• The father says that he himself despises glory without the common good.

If Latin wanted to refer to some other person, it would usually use a different pronoun or a noun to make that clear.

For English speakers, it may feel unusual, but it is perfectly normal Latin.

The sentence is:

• Pater dicit se gloriam sine bono communi spernere.

A more English-like order would be something like:

• Pater dicit se spernere gloriam sine bono communi.

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

The given order places gloriam before spernere, which is very common in Latin. The infinitive often comes at or near the end.

No. Spernere does not mean to hope.

It means:

• to despise
• to scorn
• to reject

A learner might confuse it with sperare (to hope), but they are different verbs:

• sperare = to hope
• spernere = to despise

So here the father is saying that he rejects or scorns that kind of glory.

Latin normally does not use that in this kind of sentence the way English does.

English says:

• The father says that he despises glory...

Latin prefers:

• Pater dicit se ... spernere

So instead of a conjunction like that, Latin uses:

• an accusative subject (se)
• plus an infinitive (spernere)

That is one of the most important differences between English and Latin syntax.