Sapiens veritatem amat et mendacio non credit.

It is originally an adjective/participle meaning wise, but here it is being used as a noun: a wise person or the wise person.

Grammatically, sapiens is nominative singular, so it is the subject of both verbs: amat and credit.

This is very common in Latin: an adjective can stand by itself and mean a person who is .... So sapiens can mean:

• a wise person
• the wise man
• the wise one

Depending on context, English may translate it in different ways.

Because veritatem is the direct object of amat.

The verb amare takes a direct object in the accusative case, just like English love takes a direct object:

• amat veritatem = loves the truth

Here:

• veritas = truth (dictionary form, nominative)
• veritatem = accusative singular

So the ending changes because the word is receiving the action of the verb.

Because credere does not work like amare.

In Latin, credere often takes the dative for the person or thing you trust or believe. So:

• mendacio credit literally means he/she gives विश्वास/credence to a lie
• more naturally: he/she believes a lie or trusts a lie

So:

• mendacium = lie (nominative/accusative singular)
• mendacio = dative singular here

This is one of the most important things to notice in the sentence: not every English object becomes a Latin accusative.

The form mendacio could be either dative singular or ablative singular, because second-declension neuter nouns often have the same ending for those two cases.

But here the verb tells you what case to expect. Since credere commonly takes the dative, mendacio is understood as dative:

• mendacio non credit = does not believe a lie / does not trust a lie

So context and verb usage tell you the case function.

Because Latin has no articles.

Latin does not have separate words for a, an, or the. Whether you translate a noun with an article depends on context.

So:

• sapiens could be a wise person, the wise person, or just the wise
• veritatem could be truth or the truth
• mendacio could be a lie or the lie

English has to choose; Latin usually does not mark this explicitly.

Non is the normal Latin word for not, and it usually goes right before the word it negates, especially a verb.

So:

• non credit = does not believe

That placement is very natural Latin. Word order in Latin is flexible, so you may see variation, but non credit is straightforward and expected.

It is singular in form, but it can express a general truth.

Latin often uses the singular to describe a whole type of person, just as English can say:

• A wise person loves truth and does not believe a lie.

So this is probably not about one specific individual, but about the wise person as a type.

Both are:

• third person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

So both mean he/she/it ... in the present:

• amat = loves
• credit = believes / trusts

Since the subject sapiens is singular, both verbs are singular too.

The dictionary forms are:

• sapiens, sapientis = wise, wise person
• veritas, veritatis = truth
• amo, amare, amavi, amatum = love
• et = and
• mendacium, mendacii = lie, falsehood
• non = not
• credo, credere, credidi, creditum = believe, trust

Knowing the dictionary form helps you identify the stem and understand why the endings look the way they do.

They belong to different declensions:

• veritas, veritatis is third declension
• mendacium, mendacii is second declension neuter

That is why their forms look different:

• veritas → veritatem
• mendacium → mendacio

A learner often notices that Latin nouns do not all change in the same way; declension class determines the endings.

Because Latin and English do not always package meaning the same way.

English says:

• believe the truth
• believe a lie

Latin often says:

• veritati credere = believe the truth
• mendacio credere = believe a lie

The Latin construction is closer to give belief/trust to something. That is why the dative appears.

This is a very common adjustment for English speakers learning Latin: do not assume the same verb will take the same kind of object in both languages.

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

For example, the sentence could be rearranged in several ways without changing the basic meaning, such as:

• Veritatem sapiens amat et mendacio non credit.
• Sapiens et veritatem amat et mendacio non credit.

However, the original order is clear and natural. The endings tell you that:

• sapiens is the subject
• veritatem is the direct object of amat
• mendacio goes with credit

So word order affects emphasis more than basic grammar.