Sic discimus non solum Latine legere, sed etiam verba Graeca in inscriptionibus et libris paulatim intellegere.

Sic means thus, in this way, or like this. At the beginning of the sentence, it refers back to what has just been discussed and means something like this is how or in this way.

So Sic discimus ... means This is how we learn ... or Thus we learn ....

Latin often puts a word like sic early in the sentence to connect it clearly to the previous idea.

Discimus is:

• 1st person plural
• present tense
• active voice
• from discere = to learn

So it means we learn.

A learner might also notice that Latin often does not need a separate word for we, because the ending -imus already shows that the subject is we.

After discere, Latin can use an infinitive to express what someone is learning to do.

So:

• discimus ... legere = we learn to read
• discimus ... intellegere = we learn to understand

Here both infinitives depend on discimus. The structure is:

• discimus non solum Latine legere
• sed etiam verba Graeca ... intellegere

In other words: we learn not only to read Latin, but also to understand Greek words...

This is very similar to English learn to read and learn to understand.

This is a very common Latin pairing:

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

It links two balanced parts of the sentence.

Here the two parts are:

• Latine legere
• verba Graeca in inscriptionibus et libris paulatim intellegere

So the whole pattern is:

• not only to read Latin
• but also to understand Greek words in inscriptions and books, gradually

Latin uses this pairing much like English does.

Latine is an adverb, meaning in Latin or in the Latin language.

It comes from the adjective Latinus, -a, -um. Latin often uses an adverb in -e to mean in a ... way or in the ... language:

• Latine = in Latin
• Graece = in Greek

So Latine legere means to read in Latin, not to read Latin in the sense of a direct object.

English often says read Latin, but Latin here expresses the idea adverbially: read in Latin.

Because Latine is not a noun meaning Latin as an object; it is an adverb meaning in Latin.

So Latine legere means to read in Latin or to read Latin texts. The object is left unstated because it is understood from context.

By contrast, intellegere does have a direct object:

• verba Graeca = Greek words

So the sentence is slightly asymmetrical:

• Latine legere = read in Latin
• verba Graeca ... intellegere = understand Greek words

That is perfectly normal Latin.

Verba Graeca is accusative plural neuter.

• verba is the accusative plural of verbum = word
• Graeca agrees with verba, so it is also accusative plural neuter

They are accusative because they are the direct object of intellegere:

• intellegere verba Graeca = to understand Greek words

A useful thing to notice is that neuter plural nominative and accusative forms are often the same in Latin, so here you identify the case mainly from the sentence structure.

Because it agrees with verba.

Verbum is a neuter noun, and its plural is verba. Any adjective modifying it must match in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• verba = neuter plural
• Graeca = neuter plural

Together they mean Greek words.

Both inscriptionibus and libris are in the ablative plural because they follow in expressing location.

When in means in, on, or among in the sense of place where something is, it takes the ablative:

• in inscriptionibus = in inscriptions
• in libris = in books

So verba Graeca in inscriptionibus et libris means Greek words in inscriptions and books.

This is an important distinction in Latin:

• in
  • ablative = location
• in
  • accusative = motion into

Paulatim is an adverb meaning gradually, little by little, or step by step.

Here it most naturally modifies intellegere:

• verba Graeca in inscriptionibus et libris paulatim intellegere
• to gradually understand Greek words in inscriptions and books

Depending on how you read it, it can also feel as if it shades the whole learning process, but grammatically it sits most closely with the second infinitive phrase.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order. Placement often helps with emphasis or rhythm rather than basic grammar.

Here paulatim comes just before intellegere, which makes its connection to understanding especially clear:

• we learn not only to read Latin,
• but also to gradually understand Greek words...

So the position helps highlight the idea that understanding comes little by little.

Yes, but not in the same way as in English.

Latin uses endings to show grammatical relationships, so word order is freer. In this sentence, the order helps organize the ideas neatly:

• Sic discimus sets the scene: thus we learn
• non solum ... sed etiam ... marks the two-part contrast
• Latine legere comes first as the first skill
• verba Graeca ... intellegere comes second as the added skill
• paulatim near intellegere emphasizes gradual understanding

So the order is meaningful stylistically and rhetorically, even though the grammar would still work if some parts were rearranged.

Yes. Intellegere is a standard and very classical spelling. You may also see intelligere in many textbooks and later Latin texts.

Both refer to the same verb meaning to understand. The difference is mainly orthographic, not grammatical.

So if a learner already knows intelligere, they should recognize intellegere as the same verb.

Because they are the actions being learned, and after discimus Latin uses the infinitive in a general way, much as English uses to read and to understand.

So:

• legere = to read
• intellegere = to understand

The present infinitive does not mean present time by itself here. It simply names the action.

Yes. Latin often uses language adverbs this way:

• Latine loqui = to speak in Latin
• Graece scribere = to write in Greek
• Latine legere = to read in Latin

So if the sentence were about reading in Greek, Graece would be perfectly natural.

That helps show why Latine here is adverbial rather than a noun.