MCT four‑level sentence analysis (age 13): Latin passage about the two cities (earthly and heavenly)

Goal: four‑level (MCT) sentence analysis — made simple

We will do the analysis in four clear steps so you can see how the Latin fits together and what it means.

Original (cleaned up a little)

Quoniam de civitatis utriusque, terrene scilicet et caelestis, debitis finibus deinceps mihi video disputandum, prius exponenda sunt quantum operis huius terminandi meae facultati patitur. Argumenta mortalium, quibus sibi ipsi beatitudinem facere in huius vitae infelicitate moliti sunt, ut ab eorum rebus vanis spes nostra quid differat, quam Deus nobis dedit, et res ipsa, hoc est vera beatitudo, quam dabit, non tantum auctoritate divina sed adhibita etiam ratione qualem propter infideles possumus adhibere, clarescat.

Level 1 — Clause division and simple outline

• Main idea 1: Quoniam ... video disputandum — "Since I see that I must discuss..." (introductory reason clause)
• Embedded idea: prius exponenda sunt ... — "first must be explained ..." (what must be explained before the discussion)
• Main idea 2: Argumenta mortalium ... clarescat — "Let the arguments of men make clear ..." (a purpose clause: so that it may become clear)

Level 2 — Word‑by‑word gloss and short morphology (key words)

• Quoniam — "since" (conjunction, gives a reason)
• de civitatis utriusque — "about/of the two cities" (genitive: of the city of each/both)
• terrene (terrae) scilicet et caelestis — "namely the earthly and the heavenly" (adjectives describing the two cities)
• deb(i)tis finibus — "proper duties/limits" (debita = duties or things owed; finibus = limits/bounds; both abl./dat. or gen. depending on context)
• deinceps — "from now on / hereafter"
• mihi video disputandum — literally "to me it seems (video) that there is to be disputed" → "I see that I must discuss" (video + infinitive expresses perception/necessity)
• prius exponenda sunt — "must first be explained" (prius = first; exponenda sunt = gerundive/impersonal passive: must be set forth)
• quantum operis huius terminandi — "how much of the work of finishing this" (quantum = how much; operis = of work; huius terminandi = of finishing this)
• meae facultati / patitur — (text varies) meaning: "as my ability permits" or "what my power allows" (facultas = ability; patior = permit/suffer/endure)
• Argumenta mortalium — "the arguments of mortals/men" (subject of the next clause)
• quibus sibi ipsi beatitudinem facere ... moliti sunt — a relative clause: "by which they have tried to make happiness for themselves" (quibus = by which; moliti sunt = they endeavoured/attempted)
• in huius vitae infelicitate — "in the unhappiness/misery of this life" (describes the context of their attempts)
• ut ... clarescat — purpose/result clause: "so that it may become clear / so that it may be shown"
• ut ab eorum rebus vanis spes nostra quid differat — "how our hope differs from their vain things" (ab eorum rebus vanis = from their vain things; quid differat = how it differs)
• quam Deus nobis dedit — "which God has given to us" (relative 'which' referring to something given)
• et res ipsa, hoc est vera beatitudo, quam dabit — "and the thing itself, that is true beatitude, which he will give"
• non tantum auctoritate divina sed adhibita etiam ratione — "not only by divine authority but also when reason is applied"
• qualem propter infideles possumus adhibere — "what kind (of proof) we can apply because of/until unbelievers" (i.e., what sort of reasoning we can use towards unbelievers)

Level 3 — Syntactic relationships (who does what to whom)

1. Overall structure: The first sentence explains that the writer must discuss the duties/limits of the two cities (earthly and heavenly). Before doing that, he must explain how much of the work of finishing the book he can accomplish.
2. Key constructions:
   • Quoniam ... video disputandum — sets the reason/motivation for the rest.
   • prius exponenda sunt (quantum operis ... patitur) — "prius" is an adverb modifying "exponenda sunt"; the phrase in parentheses explains what must be set forth first (extent of the work the author can finish).
   • Argumenta mortalium ... clarescat — main verb is "clarescat" (let it be clear / may it be made clear). The subject is implicit ("it" or "let this be made clear"); "Argumenta mortalium" introduces the material used to make it clear.
   • Relative clause: "quibus ... moliti sunt" modifies "argumenta mortalium" and explains what those arguments are (arguments by which people tried to make themselves happy).
   • Purpose/result: "ut ... clarescat" gives the purpose of citing those mortal arguments: to show how Christian hope differs and to show what true beatitude is, both by divine authority and by reason (so that even unbelievers can see something by reason).

Level 4 — Smooth English translation and short explanation

Translation (one clear version):

Since I see that I must hereafter discuss the proper duties and limits of both cities, namely the earthly and the heavenly, there are things that must first be explained: how much of the work of finishing this is within my power. Let the arguments of men—by which they have tried to make happiness for themselves in the misery of this life—make clear how our hope differs from their vain things, what God has given to us, and the thing itself, that is true beatitude which he will give, not only by divine authority but also, when reason is applied, how we may answer or show something to unbelievers.

Short explanation for a 13‑year‑old:

• The writer says: "I will talk about the two cities (earthly and heavenly). Before I do that, I need to explain what part of this project I can actually finish."
• Then he says he will use the arguments that ordinary people use to make themselves happy, and show how those are different from Christian hope and from the true happiness God will give.
• He will show this not only by quoting divine authority (scripture, etc.) but also by using reason so that even non‑believers can understand some of the difference.

Notes on tricky points

• Some words and word order in medieval/late Latin can be irregular. If you see tiny differences from classical Latin (like "terrene" vs "terrena" or odd endings), focus on the main words: subject (argumenta), verbs (video, exponenda sunt, clarescat), and connectors (quoniam, ut, sed).
• "Quibus ... moliti sunt" is a relative clause from "argumenta" — it explains that the arguments were those by which people tried to make happiness themselves.
• "Adhibita etiam ratione" means "also using reason." The writer plans to argue both by authority and by reason.

If you want, I can now:

1. Give a full word‑for‑word interlinear gloss (exact literal translation under each Latin word), or
2. Mark every noun, verb, and clause with colors and arrows to show dependencies, or
3. Explain any single word or grammar point you find hard.

Which of those would you like next?