Nonnulli cives nimis superbi sunt et pauperes contemnunt; alii autem modesti et liberales eos benigne accipiunt.

Nonnulli means some, quite a few, or several. It is literally built from non + nulli, so the idea is not none. Latin often uses this as a natural way to say some people.

Here it is nominative masculine plural, agreeing with cives.

Because cives is the subject of the clause.

In Nonnulli cives nimis superbi sunt et pauperes contemnunt, the citizens are the ones who are proud and despise the poor. Subjects of finite verbs are normally in the nominative case.

Also, cives is a third-declension noun:

• singular: civis
• plural: cives

Nimis is an adverb meaning too much, excessively, or overly.

So nimis superbi means too proud or excessively proud, not just very proud. That is an important difference:

• valde superbi = very proud
• nimis superbi = too proud / overly proud

Superbi is an adjective, and it is masculine nominative plural because it agrees with cives.

In this clause, it comes with sunt, so it is a predicate adjective:

• cives ... superbi sunt = the citizens are proud

It is not directly attached to the noun the way an attributive adjective would be; instead, it describes what the subject is.

Yes — pauperes can be either nominative plural or accusative plural.

Here it is accusative plural because it is the direct object of contemnunt:

• contemnunt whom? → pauperes

So the meaning is they despise the poor.

This is a very common feature in Latin: some forms look identical, and you tell the case from the sentence structure.

Grammatically, pauperes is an adjective, but here it is being used substantively — that is, as a noun-like word.

So instead of saying pauperes homines (poor people), Latin can simply say pauperes:

• pauperes contemnunt = they despise the poor

English does something similar in phrases like the rich or the poor.

Autem means however, but, or on the other hand.

Latin often puts autem in the second position of its clause, not necessarily first. So:

• alii autem = others, however / but others

That placement is very normal in Latin.

Because Latin often omits a repeated noun when it is obvious from context.

After Nonnulli cives (some citizens), the phrase alii autem naturally means but others — that is, other citizens.

So Latin avoids unnecessary repetition where English might also simply say others.

Because here they are simply adjectives describing alii, not predicate adjectives with to be.

So:

• alii modesti et liberales = other people, modest and generous

In the first clause:

• superbi sunt = are proud

In the second clause, Latin does not say alii modesti et liberales sunt; instead it moves straight to the main verb:

• alii autem modesti et liberales eos benigne accipiunt

The adjectives still agree with alii, but they are not part of a sunt construction.

No. Here liberales means something like generous, open-handed, or noble in attitude.

It does not mean liberal in a modern political sense. That is a very common trap for English speakers, because the English word looks familiar.

So in this sentence, modesti et liberales means something like:

• modest and generous
• unassuming and kind-hearted

Eos means them and is masculine accusative plural.

It refers back to pauperes, the poor people mentioned in the first clause. The pronoun must match its referent in number and usually in gender, and here that works:

• pauperes = plural people
• eos = them (masculine plural accusative)

It is accusative because it is the direct object of accipiunt.

Accipiunt basically means receive, accept, or take in. With benigne (kindly), the phrase means:

• receive kindly
• welcome
• treat hospitably

So eos benigne accipiunt is more natural in English as they welcome them kindly or simply they welcome them.

They are all third person plural present tense verbs, because the subjects are plural groups.

• sunt = they are
• contemnunt = they despise
• accipiunt = they receive / welcome

That matches:

• Nonnulli cives = some citizens
• alii = others

Because Classical Latin has no articles.

Latin does not have exact equivalents of English the, a, or an. Whether a noun is definite or indefinite is usually understood from context.

So:

• cives can mean citizens, the citizens, or some citizens
• pauperes can mean poor people or the poor

English must choose an article; Latin usually does not.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because case endings show the grammatical relationships.

This sentence uses a very natural order, but many rearrangements would still make sense. The current order helps emphasize the contrast:

• Nonnulli cives ... = some citizens
• alii autem ... = others, however

Also, Latin often likes to place conjunctions such as autem near the beginning of the clause, and finite verbs often come later than in English.

So the word order is not random; it is flexible but meaningful.