“Nolite timere,” inquit mater, “nam hospitium non longe abest.”

In Classical Latin, the normal way to tell someone not to do something is often noli or nolite + an infinitive.

So:

• noli timere = do not be afraid / don’t be afraid to one person
• nolite timere = the same thing to more than one person

A literal breakdown is something like be unwilling to fear, but that is not how it should be translated in normal English. It is simply a standard Latin way to make a prohibition.

A form like non timete would not be the usual Classical way to say this.

Because nolite is plural.

Latin distinguishes between commands to:

• one person: noli
• more than one person: nolite

So the mother is speaking to at least two people here. If she were speaking to only one person, it would be Noli timere.

Timere is the present active infinitive of timeo, timere, meaning to fear or to be afraid.

In this sentence it depends on nolite, because noli/nolite takes an infinitive in this kind of negative command.

So:

• timere = to fear
• nolite timere = do not fear / do not be afraid

Inquit means says or said, and it is a very common verb used to introduce direct speech.

It belongs to the verb inquam, a defective verb meaning I say. Many forms are missing or unusual, so learners often just memorize the common ones, especially inquit.

Why translate it as said? Because Latin often uses the historic present in narrative. That means a present-tense form is used where English would often prefer a past tense for storytelling.

So inquit mater can naturally be translated as:

• said the mother
• the mother said

even though the Latin form itself is formally present.

Yes, that is normal.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order. The subject does not have to come before the verb. So inquit mater literally has the order said mother, but it simply means the mother said.

Latin often places inquit after the first words of the quotation, so this structure is very common:

• “...” inquit X

That is, part of the quotation comes first, then inquit plus the speaker.

Because Latin has no articles.

There is no direct equivalent of English the or a/an as an ordinary part of the language. Whether a noun should be understood as mother, the mother, or a mother depends on context.

So:

• mater can mean mother, the mother, or sometimes a mother
• hospitium can mean lodging, the lodging, an inn, and so on depending on context

In this sentence, English naturally uses the mother because the context makes her identifiable.

Nam means for, because, or you see. It introduces an explanation or reason.

Here the mother says Do not be afraid, and then gives the reason:

• nam hospitium non longe abest = for / because lodging is not far away

So nam connects the reassurance to the explanation.

Hospitium has a wider range of meaning than a single English word.

It can refer to things like:

• hospitality
• lodging
• a place to stay
• sometimes something like an inn or guest accommodation

In this sentence, because it is followed by non longe abest (is not far away), it most naturally refers to a place where they can stay. So English might render it as:

• lodging
• an inn
• a place to stay

Grammatically, hospitium is neuter singular nominative here, the subject of abest.

Because longe is an adverb, and here Latin needs an adverb.

• longe = far
• non longe = not far

It modifies the verb abest (is away / is distant), not the noun hospitium.

If you used an adjective like longum, that would describe the noun itself, giving a meaning like a long lodging, which is not what the sentence is saying.

So:

• hospitium non longe abest = the lodging is not far away

Yes. Abest comes from absum, abesse, afui, which is a compound of ab + sum.

It means:

• to be away
• to be absent
• to be distant

So abest literally means is away or is absent, but in this context the natural English is:

• is not far away
• is not far off

So the structure is:

• hospitium = subject
• non longe = adverbial phrase, not far
• abest = is away / is distant

It is not unusual at all.

Latin often puts the verb near the end of the clause, so hospitium non longe abest is a very natural order. The basic sense is still straightforward:

• hospitium = the subject
• non longe = not far
• abest = the verb

Latin word order is flexible, and authors use it for emphasis, rhythm, and style more than English does. English usually relies more heavily on fixed word order for grammar.

So although an English learner may expect something like hospitium abest non longe or another arrangement, the given order is perfectly normal Latin.