Mater filiae persuadet ut veritatem sine timore dicat.

Because persuadeo is one of those Latin verbs that takes:

• the person persuaded in the dative
• the action persuaded in an ut-clause with the subjunctive

So:

• mater = the mother, subject
• filiae = to the daughter, dative
• persuadet = persuades
• ut ... dicat = to say / that she should say ...

A useful pattern is:

alicui persuadere ut ... = to persuade someone to ...

So filiae is not a genitive here, even though the form could look like one in isolation.

Here ut introduces the clause that tells us what the mother is persuading the daughter to do.

So ut veritatem sine timore dicat means something like:

• that she speak the truth without fear
• or more naturally in English, to speak the truth without fear

After a verb like persuadet, ut is very common. If the idea were negative, Latin would usually use ne:

• persuadet ne dicat = she persuades her not to speak

Because after persuadet and ut, Latin normally uses the subjunctive.

So:

• dicit = she says, indicative
• dicat = she may say / should say / is to say, subjunctive in this kind of clause

In this sentence, dicat is the present subjunctive, because the main verb persuadet is present and the action in the subordinate clause is viewed as happening at the same time or afterward from that present point of view.

The understood subject of dicat is the daughter.

Latin often leaves subject pronouns unstated when the context makes them clear. So the idea is:

• The mother persuades the daughter that she should speak the truth without fear

That she is the daughter, not the mother, because the daughter is the one being persuaded to do something.

Because veritatem is the direct object of dicat.

The daughter is being persuaded to say the truth or more naturally to tell/speak the truth.

Formally:

• veritas = truth
• veritatem = accusative singular, used as the object

So dicat veritatem = she should speak the truth.

Because sine is a preposition that takes the ablative.

So:

• sine = without
• timor = fear
• timore = ablative singular

Therefore:

sine timore = without fear

This is a good phrase to memorize, along with the rule:

• cum, de, ex, in sometimes take ablative depending on meaning
• sine always takes the ablative

It is very close in meaning to a purpose clause, but many grammars describe it more specifically as a substantive ut-clause after a verb of persuading, urging, or commanding.

Why that matters:

• a regular purpose clause answers why?
• this clause answers what is she persuading her to do?

So it is often best understood as a content/complement clause after persuadet.

Still, if you think of it as to speak the truth without fear, that will usually help you understand it correctly.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order, so the sentence does not depend on position the way an English sentence does.

Here the order is:

• Mater — subject first
• filiae — the person persuaded
• persuadet — main verb
• ut ... dicat — the subordinate clause

That is a very natural order, but Latin could rearrange it for emphasis, for example:

• Filiae mater persuadet ut veritatem sine timore dicat
• Mater ut veritatem sine timore dicat filiae persuadet

The endings, not the order alone, tell you the grammar.

Yes. By form alone, filiae could be:

• genitive singular = of the daughter
• dative singular = to/for the daughter
• nominative plural = daughters
• vocative plural = daughters

But in this sentence, only dative singular makes sense, because persuadeo takes the person persuaded in the dative.

So context and syntax tell you which meaning is right.

Because Latin normally uses ut + subjunctive after persuadeo, rather than an accusative-and-infinitive or a simple infinitive.

English says:

• persuades the daughter to speak

Latin prefers:

• filiae persuadet ut dicat

This is just one of those important verb patterns you have to learn with the verb itself. When learning persuadeo, it helps to memorize it as:

persuadeo alicui ut ... = I persuade someone to ...