My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake.
By Aristotle
I think "it" refers to wishes, & it's a verb in this context and i want a rewriting of the sentence?
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That sentence certainly isn't idiomatic, and I'd hazard a guess it's not syntactically valid in the first place. My best friend is the man who in wishing me well does so for my sake.– FumbleFingersFeb 14 at 17:40
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I doubt that Aristotle ever wrote in English...– James KFeb 14 at 21:59
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2 Answers
In this case, "it" is a pronoun replacing an idea. Remember, a noun can be a person, place, thing, event, or idea--and, especially for the latter, it can be represented by an entire phrase or clause of text.
Here, the idea it represents is the well-wishes for me, i.e. "me well" in the example sentence. Rewriting the sentence and substituting the pronoun for its antecedent will help clarify this.
My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes me well for my sake.
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You might say it as: "The man who wishes me well for my sake is my best friend." To my mind, the sentence implies that others may wish me well, but only for their own benefit--to make themselves appear good or polite, and it is only my best friend who wishes me well for my benefit.– BiblasiaFeb 14 at 15:14
In the above sentence, 'it' refers to the wishing me well.
The sentence could be rewritten as: A man who wishes me well and who wishes me well for my sake, is my best friend.
