In bibliotheca hic codex lente legendus est, quia scriptura eius difficilis est.

In the library this book (bound volume) must be read slowly, because its writing is difficult.

Breakdown of In bibliotheca hic codex lente legendus est, quia scriptura eius difficilis est.

• esse: to be
• in: in
• quia: because
• lente: slowly

Questions & Answers about In bibliotheca hic codex lente legendus est, quia scriptura eius difficilis est.

Why is bibliotheca in the ablative after in?

Because in takes different cases depending on the meaning:

• in + ablative = location, in / inside
• in + accusative = motion toward, into

So in bibliotheca means in the library.
If the sentence meant into the library, it would be in bibliothecam.

What does hic mean here, and why is it hic?

Hic means this. It is a demonstrative adjective modifying codex.

It is hic because it must agree with codex in:

• gender: masculine
• number: singular
• case: nominative

So:

• masculine nominative singular: hic
• feminine nominative singular: haec
• neuter nominative singular: hoc

Since codex is masculine singular nominative, hic is the correct form.

Why is codex the subject, even though it does not end in -us like many masculine nouns?

Because codex is a noun, not a second-declension noun.