Both Uses of
precedent
in
The Mill on the Floss
- It did occur to him that he could perhaps get some help by praying for it; but as the prayers he said every evening were forms learned by heart, he rather shrank from the novelty and irregularity of introducing an extempore passage on a topic of petition for which he was not aware of any precedent.†
Chpt 2.1 *
- It was not safe to be too confident, even about the best of men; an apostle had fallen, and wept bitterly afterwards; and though Peter's denial was not a close precedent, his repentance was likely to be.†
Chpt 7.4
Definition:
an example from a prior time -- typically used to justify similar occurrences at a later time (especially a judicial decision)