The grammar behind this statement is not what meets the eye. in this instance, both quid and quo are not translated as who or what but are how Latin demonstrative translates into English. But what is a relative pronoun and why is it important? Relative pronouns refer to things, people, places, or ideas that have been mentioned previously. Who, what, where, and when, are all relative pronouns that can introduce clauses by referring back to a noun, concept or idea, usually given in the preceding sentence. When arguing for Archias' citizenship, Cicero uses relative pronouns and relative clauses multiple times. For instance:
"et omnes, qui aliquid de ingeniis poterant iudicare, cognitione atque hospitio dignum existimarunt." [5]
In this portion of a larger sentence, the relative pronoun qui refers back to omnes, and aliquid, meaning "anything", is the accusative in the sentence. the phrase in the sentence is:
"and all (men), who were able to to judge anything of intelligence, thought that he (Archias) was worthy of recognition."
It is obvious that the "who" in the sentence goes back to "all (men)" because it is a relative pronoun. In "quid pro quo" the relative pronouns are quid and quo, with pro meaning "for". The relative pronouns hold the place for "something" with that something referring to any item in trade for another "something" (any other item). This phrase is fitting when describing the idea of trade. The relative pronouns hold the place of every item you could trade for every thing you could receive or money in turn.
Knowing how quid and quo function gave this phrase a deeper meaning when talking to my English teacher. It described human behavior, some relative action for some relative wanted result, and specifically in that case, our book's main character and his behavior.
- Will B.
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