1000000030

e o

are commonly:¡nd readily fold in a

m~rkct,

or export–

abro~d:

being, for lhe morl pan, lhe proper pro·

dnce or

m~n\lfaaure

of Ihe counlry.

COMMODORE, in maritime afT.lirs,

oflicer of the

Britint Ortoy, commillioneo bythe lords of theadmirol·

ty, or by

admiral,

conlluand a fquadron of meA

of war in chief.

COMMON, fomelhing that belnngs to aU alike, in

contradirlinaion to prop", peculiar,

&c.

COMM&S COUNCIL. CnuHCIL.

COMMON LAW, that body of rules recei"ed

~s I~w

England, before any Ilatllte was enaélcd

parlia.

ment to alter the fame. See LAW.

COMMOH'PLAC6 800<, is a reginer of ":hat things oc·

cur, worthy to be noted, in the courfe of a

m~n's

thinkiog or lluJy, fo difpofed, as that, among

number

of fubjeas, any one

m~y

be eafily found. The ad·

~antages

of making a common.place book are many:

not ooly m. kes aman read with accuracy and at–

teotion', but indnces him infenfibly to Ihink for him·

feif, provided he confiders it not fo much

a regio

ner of fentimenls lhat Ilrike bim in lhe courfe of read·

ing, but as a reginer of his own thoughu ypon vario

ou. fUbjeas. Maoy valuable thollghts occur eveo to

men of no eXlraordioary genius. Thefe, withollt the

alJiaance of a common place·book, are gentraUy lorl

TIte index of the

cOllm/en.plllce

book thus formed,

manen are ready for the

e~king

down any thing

th.rein.

In order to this, confider 10 what head the thing

you would enta is mofl naturally referred; and onder

which one would be Itd to look for [uch a thing :

in this bead, or word, regard is had 10 lhe iniliallee–

ler, and the tirfl vowel thae follolVs it; which are the

charatltriflie lellers whereon all Ihe ufe of the iode"

depends.

Suppofe,

(e. gr.)

would enter down a palfage that

refers

the hrad

B!aul)';

I confider, is the initial

Imer; and

Ihe firfl vowel: lheo, looking upon Ihe

iodex for Ihe panilion

and lhereio the line

(wh'ch is the pllee for all 1V0ros whofe firfl lener

aod fidl vowel

JJe.uIJ.

DWejiW/Cl,

Brrod,

JJreeding,

BI,mijlm,)

and finding no num–

bers already down eo direa me tO aoy page of the

Ihe book "here words of lhis chmaerillic have becn

tOlcrcd,

turn forward

lbe firn blaok page

finJ,

e o

both to himfclf and others. Tbere are various me–

thod. of arranging common.place boo!:s; thal of

Locke is as good as any thal have hitherto been con–

lrived.

The firrl page of the book you intend to take down

their

<o",fllo"ploce

in, is to ferve as a kind of index:

to lhe whole; and to contain references to every place

or mmer therein: in the commodious contrivance of

which index, fb as it may admit of a fufficient copia

or variety of malerials, without any confufion, aU the

fecret of Ihe method confifls.

In order to this, the firrl page, as already mention–

ed, or, for more room, lhe two firfl pages that frone

each olher, are 10 be divided, by pmUellines, inlo

5eqllal pam; whereof, every fi(th lioe to be diflin–

guifhed, by in colour or other' circumflance. Thefe

lines are to be cut perpendicularly by Olhers, drawn

from top to boltom; aod in the feveral fpaces thereof,

the feveralletters of the.alphabet, both capieal and

minufcule, are 10 be duly wrote.

The form of lhe lines and divifions, both horizon–

tal and perpendicular,

w~lh

Ihe manoer of writing the

letters therein, wiU be conceived from the foUowing

fpecimen; wherein, whae is eo be done in lhe book

for aU Ihe leuers of lhe alphabel, is here ntelVn iD the

firfl four,

A, B,

and

/J.

•

wbich, in' a frefh book, as this is fuppofed 10 be, wJII

be page 2, and here write \Vhal I have occafion for on

the

~e<d ~eouIJ;

beginning the head in the margin,

and IOdentlng all the other fubfenient lines, that the

head may fland OUl and lItew it(elf: this done, I

ter the page \Vhere il is wrote,

viz.

in the indexo

in Ihe fpace,

Be;

from which time, the claC;

B •

bec.omes \Vholly in polfellion of the 2d and 3d pages,.

whlch are configned to letters of this charaélerinic.

Had I fOllnd any page Or number already entered in

the (pace

mufl

~a\'e

turned

Ihe page, and

have wrole my malter

\Vhae room was lefr therein :

[o, if after enlering lhe palfage On

be~uty,

fhould

have occafibn for

b<nevolence,

or the like, finding the

number

already polfelfed of the fpace of this cha–

,.aerillic, I begin the palfage On

ben~volence

in Ihe

remainder of the page, which not containing Ihewhole

I carry ie on to page 3, whieh is airo for

•.

and

add the number 3 iD Ihe indexo

•

ComloN PLUS is one o[ lhe king's COUrlS 'now bcld

~Dnantlr