Quamvis iter longum esset, mater dixit se neque ruri neque in urbe tam bene quiescere quam in illo diversorio.

Because quamvis introducing a concessive clause normally takes the subjunctive in classical Latin.

So:

• quamvis = although / even though
• quamvis iter longum esset = although the journey was long

The subjunctive here does not mean the journey was only possible or uncertain. It is simply the usual construction after quamvis in this kind of sentence.

Esset is the imperfect subjunctive of esse.

It is used here because the sentence is set in past time, and the quamvis clause gives background circumstance at that past time. In other words, the long journey is presented as a circumstance accompanying the mother’s statement.

So Latin uses:

• dixit = she said
• esset = was in a subordinate concessive clause dependent on that past setting

English does not show this in the same way, so we simply say although the journey was long.

Because iter is a neuter noun.

The adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:

• iter = neuter singular nominative
• longum = neuter singular nominative

So iter longum means the journey was long.

This is a very common point for English speakers, because English nouns do not have grammatical gender, but Latin nouns do.

This is the accusative-and-infinitive construction, the standard Latin way to express indirect statement after verbs like say, think, know, and hear.

So instead of saying:

• mater dixit quod...

Latin usually says:

• mater dixit se ... quiescere

Literally, that is something like:

• the mother said herself to rest...

But in normal English we translate it as:

• the mother said that she rested...
• or the mother said that she did not rest...

So after dixit, expect:

1. an accusative subject
2. an infinitive verb

Because se is reflexive and refers back to the subject of the main verb, here mater.

So:

• mater dixit se quiescere = the mother said that she herself was resting / rested
• mater dixit eam quiescere would mean the mother said that she (some other woman) was resting

This is an important Latin distinction. Se points back to the subject of its own clause’s governing verb.

In Latin indirect statement, the tense of the infinitive is relative to the main verb, not absolute in the same way as English tense.

A present infinitive usually shows action happening at the same time as the main verb:

• dixit se quiescere = she said that she was resting / rested

Because dixit is past, English often shifts the tense into the past when translating. But Latin keeps the present infinitive to show that the resting is contemporaneous with the saying.

Very roughly:

• present infinitive = same time
• perfect infinitive = earlier time
• future infinitive = later time

Neque ... neque means neither ... nor.

It links two parallel phrases:

• neque ruri
• neque in urbe

So the sense is:

• neither in the country nor in the city

Latin can also use nec ... nec, which means the same thing.

Because ruri is a special locative form meaning in the countryside / in the country.

Some words expressing place use an old locative case instead of a preposition. Ruri is one of them.

So:

• ruri = in the country
• in urbe = in the city

Urbs does not normally use a locative in this way, so Latin uses the regular expression for place where:

• in
  • ablative

This is similar to other common fixed forms such as:

• domi = at home
• humi = on the ground

Tam ... quam means as ... as.

Here:

• tam bene = so well / as well
• quam = as

So:

• tam bene quiescere quam in illo diversorio = to rest as well as in that inn

Because the sentence is negative with neque ... neque, the full idea is:

• she rested neither in the country nor in the city as well as in that inn

In smoother English:

• she did not rest as well in the country or in the city as she did in that inn

Because Latin word order is much freer than English word order.

The two words still belong together as a pair:

• tam ... quam = as ... as

But Latin often places the words of a pair around the material they govern. So even though tam and quam are separated, the connection is still clear.

A native English speaker may want them close together, but Latin does not require that.

It is ablative singular, because it follows in meaning location.

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

• in urbe
• in illo diversorio

So:

• illo = ablative singular of ille
• diversorio = ablative singular of diversorium

If in expressed motion into a place, Latin would use the accusative instead.

Illo means that and points to a specific lodging place.

So in illo diversorio is not just in an inn or in a lodging place, but in that inn / in that lodging place.

Usually ille suggests that the place is already known, previously mentioned, or somehow especially identifiable in the context.

Diversorium means a lodging place, inn, or place to stay on a journey.

In this sentence it fits naturally with iter because the context is travel. So the mother is comparing how well she rested:

• in the countryside
• in the city
• and in that particular lodging place

A good simple gloss is inn, but lodging place is often a bit broader and closer to the Latin.