Fit ut etiam fortes viatores interdum anxii sint, cum via longa et obscura sit.

Fit ut is a common Latin expression meaning it happens that, it comes about that, or the result is that.

• fit is from fio, fieri, meaning to happen, to become, or to be done.
• When followed by ut
  • a subjunctive verb, it introduces a clause explaining what happens.

So:

• Fit ut ... anxii sint = It happens that ... are anxious

This is a very natural Latin way to express something like even brave travelers sometimes become anxious.

Because it is inside an ut-clause depending on fit.

In Latin, after expressions like fit ut, the verb in the ut clause normally goes into the subjunctive:

• fit ut ... sint = it happens that ... are
• not fit ut ... sunt

So sint is not showing doubt here. It is simply required by the construction fit ut + subjunctive.

The subject of sint is fortes viatores:

• fortes = brave
• viatores = travelers

Both are nominative plural, so they go together:

• fortes viatores ... sint = brave travelers ... are

The adjective anxii also agrees with them.

Because it is a predicate adjective describing fortes viatores.

Latin often uses an adjective after a form of to be to describe the subject:

• viatores anxii sunt = the travelers are anxious

So here:

• fortes viatores = nominative plural masculine
• anxii = nominative plural masculine

They match in number, gender, and case.

Etiam means even or also. Here it means even:

• etiam fortes viatores = even brave travelers

Its position before fortes viatores helps emphasize that idea. Latin word order is flexible, but placing etiam there makes it clear that the surprising point is that even people who are brave can still feel anxious.

Interdum means sometimes or from time to time.

So:

• fortes viatores interdum anxii sint = brave travelers are sometimes anxious

It is an adverb, so it modifies the whole idea of being anxious.

Here cum means since or because, and causal cum commonly takes the subjunctive in Latin.

So:

• cum via longa et obscura sit = since/because the road is long and dark

This is different from a simple statement:

• via longa et obscura est = the road is long and dark

In this sentence, the cum clause gives the reason for the travelers’ anxiety, so Latin uses sit.

Probably not. Here it is better understood as since or because.

Why?

1. The context is explaining why the travelers are anxious.
2. cum with the subjunctive often introduces a causal clause.
3. when the road is long and dark is possible in English, but since the road is long and dark fits the logic better.

So the clause is giving a reason, not mainly a time.

Via is nominative singular.

It is the subject of sit in the cum clause:

• via ... sit = the road is

The adjectives longa and obscura agree with via:

• via = feminine singular nominative
• longa = feminine singular nominative
• obscura = feminine singular nominative

Because they describe via, and via is a feminine noun.

Latin adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• via = feminine singular
• longa = feminine singular
• obscura = feminine singular

That agreement tells you they belong together.

Latin often does not use a separate dummy subject like English it.

English says:

• It happens that...

Latin simply says:

• Fit ut...

The verb fit by itself can carry that impersonal sense. So nothing is missing; Latin just expresses the idea more compactly.

A good way to break it down is:

1. Fit ut = It happens that
2. etiam fortes viatores interdum anxii sint = even brave travelers are sometimes anxious
3. cum via longa et obscura sit = since the road is long and dark

So the sentence works like this:

• main expression: Fit ut ...
• content clause: ... anxii sint
• reason clause: cum ... sit

That gives the full sense: It happens that even brave travelers are sometimes anxious, since the road is long and dark.

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

Latin uses word order more flexibly than English because endings show grammatical relationships. The sentence is arranged for emphasis and flow:

• Fit ut first sets up the main construction.
• etiam fortes viatores highlights even brave travelers.
• interdum adds sometimes.
• anxii sint places the key idea are anxious toward the end of the clause.
• cum via longa et obscura sit then gives the reason.

So the order is not random; it helps emphasize important ideas.

Yes, Latin can sometimes use quod to mean because, but cum + subjunctive is a very common and elegant way to give background or cause.

Compare:

• cum via longa et obscura sit = since the road is long and dark
• quod via longa et obscura est = because the road is long and dark

Both can express cause, but they are slightly different in style and structure. In your sentence, cum ... sit is perfectly natural.

The dictionary form is fio, fieri, factus sum.

This verb is often used as the passive equivalent of facio in some forms, but it also has its own meanings such as:

• to become
• to happen
• to take place

In this sentence, fit means it happens.

Because fortes is a third-declension adjective form that can be:

• masculine plural nominative
• feminine plural nominative
• or accusative plural in some contexts

Here it is understood as modifying viatores, which is masculine plural, so fortes is masculine nominative plural.

Latin learners often notice that some adjective endings are less specific than first/second-declension ones. The noun usually makes the meaning clear.

In isolation, a subjunctive form like sint can have several possible uses. But here, because it is after fit ut, it does not mean may be in the sense of a wish or possibility.

It simply belongs to the fixed grammatical pattern:

• fit ut + subjunctive

So here anxii sint just means are anxious within that construction.