Chapter 308 Allen and Greenough's Latin Grammar Dickinson College Christopher Francese

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In the use of Relatives, the following points are to be observed:—

The relative is never omitted in Latin, as it often is in English:— liber quem mihi dedistī , the book you gave me. is sum quī semper fuī , I am the same man I always was. eō in locō est dē quō tibi locūtus sum , he is in the place I told you of.

When two relative clauses are connected by a copulative conjunction, a relative pronoun sometimes stands in the first and a demonstrative in the last:— erat profectus obviam legiōnibus Macedonicīs quattuor, quās sibi conciliāre pecūniā cōgitābat eāsque ad urbem addūcere (Fam. 12.23.2) , he had set out to meet four legions from Macedonia , which he thought to win over to himself by a gift of money and to lead (them) to the city.

A relative clause in Latin often takes the place of some other construction in English,—particularly of a participle, an appositive, or a noun of agency:— lēgēs quae nunc sunt , the existing laws (the laws which now exist). Caesar quī Galliam vīcit , Cæsar the conqueror of Gaul. iūsta glōria quī est frūctus virtūtis (Pison. 57) , true glory [which is] the fruit of virtue. ille quī petit , the plaintiff (he who sues). quī legit , a reader (one who reads).

In formal or emphatic discourse, the relative clause usually comes first, often containing the antecedent noun (cf. § 307 . b ):— quae pars cīvitātis Helvētiae īnsīgnem calamitātem populō Rōmānō intulerat, ea prīnceps poenās persolvit (B. G. 1.12) , the portion of the Helvetian state which had brought a serious disaster on the Roman people was the first to pay the penalty. In colloquial language, the relative clause in such cases often contains a redundant demonstrative pronoun which logically belongs in the antecedent clause: as, ille quī cōnsultē cavet , diūtinē ūtī bene licet partum bene (Plaut. Rud. 1240), he who is on his guard, he may long enjoy what he has well obtained.

The relative with an abstract noun may be used in a parenthetical clause to characterize a person , like the English such: — quae vestra prūdentia est (Cael. 45) , such is your wisdom. [Equivalent to prō vestrā prūdentiā .] audīssēs cōmoedōs vel lēctōrem vel lyristēn, vel, quae mea līberālitās , omnēs (Plin. Ep. 1.15) , you would have listened to comedians, or a reader, or a lyre-player , or—such is my liberality—to all of them.

A relative pronoun (or adverb) often stands at the beginning of an independent sentence or clause, serving to connect it with the sentence or clause that precedes:— Caesar statuit exspectandam classem; quae ubi convēnit (B. G. 3.14) , Cæsar decided that he must wait for the fleet; and when this had come together , etc. quae quī audiēbant , and those who heard this (which things). quae cum ita sint , and since this is so. quōrum quod simile factum (Cat. 4.13) , what deed of theirs like this? quō cum vēnisset , and when he had come there (whither when he had come). This arrangement is common even when another relative or an interrogative follows. The relative may usually be translated by an English demonstrative, with or without and.

A relative adverb is regularly used in referring to an antecedent in the Locative case; so, often, to express any relation of place instead of the formal relative pronoun:— mortuus Cūmīs quō sē contulerat (Liv. 2.21) , having died at Cumœ , whither he had retired. [Here in quam urbem might be used, but not in quās .] locus quō aditus nōn erat , a place to which (whither) there was no access. rēgna unde genus dūcis (Aen. 5.801) , the kingdom from which you derive your race. unde petitur , the defendant (he from whom something is demanded).

The relatives quī , quālis , quantus , quot , etc. are often rendered simply by as in English:— idem quod semper , the same as always. cum esset tālis quālem tē esse videō ; ( Mur. 32 ), since he was such a man as I see you are. tanta dīmicātiō quanta numquam fuit (Att. 7.1.2) , such a fight as never was before. tot mala quot sīdera (Ov. Tr. 1.5.47), as many troubles as stars in the sky.

The general construction of relatives is found in clauses introduced by relative adverbs: as, ubi , quō , unde , cum , quārē .

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