Si discordia inter amicos oritur, sapiens eam vitare conatur et verba blanda quaerit.

Si means if and introduces a condition.

So Si discordia inter amicos oritur means If disagreement arises among friends.

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• si = if
• clause with a verb = the condition
• main clause = what happens if that condition is true

In this sentence, the condition is simply stated as a real possibility.

Discordia is nominative singular.

It is nominative because it is the subject of oritur:

• discordia = disagreement, discord
• oritur = arises

So discordia is the thing doing the arising.

Also, discordia is a first-declension feminine noun, so its nominative singular form ends in -a.

The preposition inter takes the accusative case.

So:

• amici = nominative plural, friends as a subject
• amicos = accusative plural, friends after inter

Thus:

• inter amicos = among friends / between friends

This is something to memorize: inter + accusative.

Oritur comes from the deponent verb orior, oriri, ortus sum.

A deponent verb:

• has passive forms
• but an active meaning

So although oritur looks passive in form, it means he/she/it arises, not is arisen.

Here:

• discordia oritur = disagreement arises

This is a very important Latin feature. Some verbs are passive in form but active in meaning.

Sapiens means a wise person or the wise man/person.

Grammatically, it is a present participle of sapio (to be wise, to have sense), but it is often used like a noun or adjective meaning wise.

Here it is nominative singular and serves as the subject of:

• conatur
• quaerit

So:

• sapiens ... conatur et ... quaerit
• the wise person tries ... and seeks ...

Eam is the accusative singular feminine form of is, ea, id (he, she, it / this, that).

It refers back to discordia, which is feminine singular.

Why accusative? Because it is the direct object of vitare:

• eam vitare = to avoid it

So:

• discordia = subject in the first clause
• eam = it, referring back to discordia, in the object case

Vitare is an infinitive, meaning to avoid.

It depends on conatur:

• conatur = tries
• vitare = to avoid

Together:

• eam vitare conatur = he/she tries to avoid it

This is a common construction in Latin:

• a verb of trying, wanting, being able, beginning, etc.
• followed by an infinitive

Examples:

• potest videre = he can see
• vult manere = he wants to remain
• conatur fugere = he tries to flee

Conatur comes from conor, conari, conatus sum, meaning to try or to attempt.

Like orior, it is a deponent verb:

• passive in form
• active in meaning

So conatur means he/she tries, not is tried.

This is why both oritur and conatur may look unusual to a beginner: both are deponent verbs.

Verba is the accusative plural of verbum, meaning word.

Latin often uses the plural where English also does:

• verba quaerere = to seek words

Here the idea is that the wise person is looking for gentle/soothing words, not just one word.

So:

• verba = direct object of quaerit
• blanda describes verba

Blanda agrees with verba.

Since verba is:

• neuter
• plural
• accusative

the adjective must match it:

• blanda = neuter plural accusative (and nominative) of blandus

So:

• verba blanda = gentle words / soothing words

If the noun were feminine plural, you might see blandae, but verba is neuter plural.

The main verbs are in the present tense:

• oritur = arises
• conatur = tries
• quaerit = seeks

Latin often uses the present tense for a general truth or habitual situation, just as English does.

So the sentence is not necessarily about one specific event. It means something like:

• If disagreement arises among friends, a wise person tries to avoid it and looks for gentle words.

This has a proverb-like or general moral tone.

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

English depends heavily on word order:

• The wise man seeks gentle words

Latin can move words around more freely because:

• sapiens is nominative, so it is the subject
• verba is accusative plural, so it is the object
• blanda matches verba
• eam is accusative, so it is also an object

In this sentence, the order is quite natural and stylistic:

• condition first: Si discordia inter amicos oritur
• then the main action: sapiens eam vitare conatur et verba blanda quaerit

Latin often places important or closely connected words near each other, but not always in the same order as English.

In Latin, the verb ending often already tells you the person and number.

For example:

• conatur = he/she/it tries
• quaerit = he/she/it seeks

So Latin does not need to add a separate subject pronoun unless it wants emphasis.

Here the subject is already expressed by sapiens, so a pronoun would be unnecessary.

Although it is often translated the wise man, sapiens can be more general: a wise person.

The form sapiens can be masculine or feminine in the singular, depending on context. Since nothing in the sentence forces a specifically male subject, it is often best understood as:

• a wise person
• the wise person

That is often the most natural translation for learners today.