Mater dicit veram amicitiam non solum in diebus serenis, sed etiam in rebus asperis apparere.

Because after dicit Latin often uses an indirect statement construction.

Instead of saying something like Mother says that true friendship appears..., Latin says more literally:

• Mater dicit = Mother says
• veram amicitiam ... apparere = true friendship to appear / that true friendship appears

So apparere is the infinitive that belongs to the indirect statement after dicit.

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

So even though true friendship is the idea doing the appearing, Latin does not use the nominative here. It uses:

• veram amicitiam = accusative singular

This is the standard accusative + infinitive pattern:

• Mater dicit veram amicitiam apparere
• literally: Mother says true friendship to appear
• natural English: Mother says that true friendship appears

Because in Latin an indirect statement works differently from English.

In English, the subject of appears would normally be nominative: true friendship appears.

In Latin indirect statement, the subject of the infinitive is put in the accusative. So:

• vera amicitia apparet = true friendship appears
• Mater dicit veram amicitiam apparere = Mother says that true friendship appears

So veram amicitiam is the logical subject of apparere, even though its form is accusative.

Veram amicitiam means true friendship.

• amicitia = friendship
• verus, vera, verum = true

Here amicitiam is:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative

So the adjective must match it:

• veram = feminine singular accusative
• amicitiam = feminine singular accusative

Latin adjectives agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case.

This is a very common Latin pairing meaning:

• non solum = not only
• sed etiam = but also / but even

So the sentence contrasts two situations:

• in diebus serenis = in calm days / in good times
• in rebus asperis = in harsh circumstances / in difficulties

The phrase helps show that true friendship is visible both in pleasant times and in hard times.

Because here in means in or during in a non-motion sense, so it takes the ablative.

• in diebus serenis = in calm days
• in rebus asperis = in harsh circumstances

Latin uses:

• in + ablative for location, situation, or time within which something happens
• in + accusative for motion into

Here there is no motion, so the ablative is used.

They are parallel phrases, but they are not exactly the same in meaning.

• diebus serenis literally means in calm/clear days
• rebus asperis literally means in rough/harsh circumstances

So the first is expressed with days, while the second is broader and more abstract, using things/circumstances. In smoother English, you might think of them as:

• in good times
• in difficult situations

Literally, serenus can mean clear, calm, or bright, often used of the sky or weather. But here it is being used more figuratively.

So in diebus serenis suggests:

• calm days
• peaceful times
• good times

A learner should notice that Latin often uses concrete words like days in places where English might prefer a more abstract expression like times.

Asperis comes from asper, aspera, asperum, meaning things like:

• rough
• harsh
• severe
• difficult

In in rebus asperis, it describes difficult or unpleasant circumstances. So the phrase means something like:

• in hard times
• in difficulties
• in adverse situations

Latin often uses res in a very broad way. It can mean:

• thing
• matter
• situation
• circumstance
• affair

So in rebus asperis is a natural Latin way to say in difficult circumstances. It may sound broader and less fixed than a direct one-word English equivalent, but it is very idiomatic Latin.

Yes, but not necessarily in the sense of suddenly coming into sight.

Here apparere means something more like:

• to become visible
• to show itself
• to be evident
• to be revealed

So the sentence means that true friendship is shown or proves itself in both good times and bad.

Latin word order is much more flexible because the endings show the grammatical relationships.

So Latin can place words for emphasis or style:

• Mater dicit puts the speaker first
• veram amicitiam introduces the key idea early
• non solum ... sed etiam neatly balances the two contrasting phrases
• apparere comes at the end, which is very common in Latin

A very literal order would be: Mother says true friendship not only in calm days but also in harsh circumstances to appear.

Natural English rearranges this, but the Latin order is perfectly normal.

Yes, but it would mean something slightly different in structure.

• Vera amicitia apparet = True friendship appears

That is a direct statement with:

• vera amicitia in the nominative
• apparet as a finite verb

But after dicit, Latin usually changes this into indirect statement:

• Mater dicit veram amicitiam apparere

So both are correct, but they belong to different constructions.

Because mater is the subject of dicit.

• mater = mother
• dicit = says

So mater is the person doing the saying, and it remains nominative because it belongs to the main clause, not the indirect statement.

The sentence has two layers:

1. Main clause: Mater dicit
2. Indirect statement: veram amicitiam ... apparere

Yes. There are three adjective-noun pairs, and each pair agrees in gender, number, and case:

• veram amicitiam
  feminine singular accusative

• diebus serenis
  masculine plural ablative

• rebus asperis
  feminine plural ablative

This sentence is a good example of how Latin uses endings to connect adjectives with nouns, even when the word order is flexible.

A fairly literal translation would be:

Mother says true friendship to appear not only in calm days, but also in harsh circumstances.

That sounds unnatural in English, but it shows the Latin structure clearly.

A more natural English version would be:

Mother says that true friendship shows itself not only in good times, but also in difficult circumstances.