STNONTMOUS "TERMS. 95 



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 funpofing 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 petimus*." — " Cum a me peteret et fumme conten- 

 " deret, ut propinquum fuum defenderem f." — " Id fibi ut'do- 

 " naret, rogare et vehementer petere ccepit £." In the lad ex- 

 ample, the verbs rogare 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 

 refpect due to fo great a critic, it may be urged, that this 

 power of petere is not to be difcerncd in the verb when taken 

 by itfelf, though it may be expreffed by words with which it is 

 occasionally accompanied. Thus, Cjesar, De Bello Gallico t 

 fays, " Suppliciterque locuti, flentes pacem petijfent" — " Pueri 

 " mulierefque, paffis manibus, pacem ab Romanis petierunt ||." 

 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 expreffed by thofe terms that 

 happen to be adjuncts to the verb. 



Petere, from the Greek verb irsru, ferri, volar e, fhews its 

 native force in fuch derivatives as impetus and prapes **. It 



feems 



* Cic. Tufc. CL5. 5. f Cic. Qui". 14. a. J Cic. Ver. 21 5. a. 



§ iEneid. 9. 193. || i» 27. & 2. 13. 



** The obfervations of the celebrated Gesner upon thrs verb, are worthy of that ex- 

 tenfive erudition and acute difcernment for which he is juftly diftinguitbed. By means of 

 his accurate remarks upon the force of ibme fingle terms, my labour in tracing the cir- 

 cumftance by which they are allied to other ones, has been abridged j and no fcholar 

 mould be afhamed to avow his obligations to fo able a guide. 



