SYNONYMOUS TERMS. 0 
toy 
He who propofed a law in the Roman Comitia, and was then 
faid rogare legem, prefented his requeft refpectfully, and left it 
to the Affembly to judge as to the expediency of granting it. 
PeTere differs from rogare, in fuppofing a certain difficulty 
in coming at the object defired, and a greater degree of keen- 
nefs upon the part of the petitioner. “ Ad te confugimus, a 
“ te opem pefimus *.”—“ Cum a me peteret et fumme conten- 
** deret, ut propinquum fuum defenderem +.”—* Id fibi ut do- 
“ naret, rogare et vehementer petere ccepit f.” In the latt ex- 
ample, the verbs ragare and petere are evidently contrafted. 
‘The latter denotes a degree of zeal upon the part of the perfon 
who afks, which the former does not. 
. THE definition now given of petere does not correfpond with 
that given by Servius. “ Petere,” fays he, “ eft cum aliquid 
“ humiliter, et cum precibus poftulamus §.” With all the 
refpeé&t due to fo great a critic, it may be urged, that this 
power of petere is not to be difcerned in the verb when taken 
by itfelf, though it may be exprefled by words with which it is 
occafionally accompanied. Thus, Ca@sar, De Bello Gallico, 
fays, “ Suppliciterque locuti, flentes pacem peti/ent.”—“ Pueri 
“* mulierefque, paflis manibus, pacem ab Romanis fetierunt ||.” 
Nothing in either of thofe inftances ferves to prove, that the 
keennefs of the petitioner, which marks the verb, may not ex- 
ift, independently of the manner in which the requeft is pre- 
fented. The manner is in fact exprefled by thofe terms that 
happen to be adjunéts to the verb. i 
PeTeReE, from the Greek verb zerw, ferri, volare, fhews its 
native force in fuch derivatives as impetus and prepes **. It 
feems 
* Cic. Tufc. Q. 5. 5. + Cic. Quin. 14. a. f Cic. Ver. 215. a. 
§ Mneid. 9. 193. |] 1.27. & 2.13. 
** The obfervations of the celebrated Gzsner upon this verb, are worthy of that ex- 
tenfive erudition and acute difcernment for which he is juftly diftinguifhed. By means of 
his accurate remarks upon the force of fome fingle terms, my labour in tracing the cir- 
cumftance by which they are allied to other ones, has been abridged; and no {cholar 
fhould be afhamed to avow his obligations to fo able a guide. 
