COM
( 276)
C OM
AH Trials of Common Lam are by a Jury of twelve Men. See Jury.
Common-Places, Adverfaria, among the Learned, are a Regifter, br orderly Collection of what things occur wor- thy to he noted, and retain'd in the Courfe of a Mans read- ing, or Study 5 fo difpos'd, as that among a Multiplicity of Heads, and Things of all Kinds, any one may be found, and turn'd to at pleafure. See Place.
Common-places are things of infinite fervice : they are a Kind of Promptuarics or Storehoufes, wherein to repofit the ebbiceft and moft valuable Parts of Authors, to be ready at hand when wanted. Several Perfons have their feveral Me- thods of ordering them : but that which comes beft recom- mended, and which many learned Men have now given in- to, is the Method of that great Mafler of Order Mr. Locke. He has thought fit to publish it in a Letter to M. Toifnard; derermin'd thereto, by the great Conveniency and Advan- tage he had found from it in 20 Years experience 3 as well as by the Recommendations and Intreaties of many of his Friends, who had likewife prov'd it.
The Subftance of this Method we fhall here give the
Reader j whereby he will be eafily inabled to execute it himfclf.
The firft Page of the Book you intend to keep the Com- mon-places in, is to ferve as a kind of Index to the whole • and to contain References to every 'Place or Matter therein- In the commodious Contrivance of which Index, fo as it may admit of a fufficient Copia, or Variety of Materials without any Confufion ; all the Secret of the Method confifts'
In order to this, the firft Page, as already mention'd or' for more room, the two firft Pages that front each other' are' to bedivided, by parallel Lines, into 25 equal Parts ; where- of, every fifth Line to be diftinguifTi'd, by its Colour or other Circumftance. Thefe Lines are to be cut perpendicularly by others, drawn from top to bottom 5 and in the feveral Spaces thereof, the feveral Letters of the Alphabet, both Capital and Minufcule, are to be duly wrote.
The form of the Lines and Divifions, both horizontal and perpendicular, with the manner of writing the Letters there- in, will be conceiv'd from the following Specimen j where- in, what is to be done in the Book for all the Letters of the Alphabet, is here fiiewn in the firft four A, B, C, and 2).
A 2
a
C
a
e
e
i
/
u
u
a
a
e 2.3
e
i
t
7
u
u
The- Index of the Common-place Book thus form'd, Mat- ters are ready for the taking down any thing therein.
In order to this, confider to what Head, the thing you would enter is moft naturally referr'd ; and under which, one would be led to look for fuch a thing : in this Head, or Word, regard is had to the initial Letter, and the firft Vowel that follows it; which are the characteristic Letters whereon all the Ufe of the Index depends.
Suppofe, c. g. I would enter down a PafTage that refers to the Head Beauty ; B, I confider, is the initial Letter, and e the firft Vowel: Then, looking upon the Index for the Partition B, and therein the Line e, (which is the Place for all Words whofe firft Letter is S, and firft Vowel e ; as Beauty, Beneficence, Bread, Bleeding, Blemi/bes, Sec.) and finding no Numbers already down to direct me to any Page of the Book where Words of this Characterise have been en- ter'd, I turn forward to the firft blank Page I find, which in a frefh, Book, as this is fuppos'd to be, will be Page 2, and here write what I have occafion for on the Head Beauty 5 beginning the Head in the Margin, and indenting all the other fubfervient Lines that the Head may ftand out and ihew it felf s This done, I enter the Page where 'tis wrote, viz,. 2, in the Index, in the Space Br ; from which time, the Clafs B c becomes wholly in PorTcffion of the 2d and 3d Pages, which are confign'd to Letters of this Characteriftic.
Had I found any Page or Number already enter'd in the Space B e, I mutt have turn'd to the Page, and have wrote my Matter in what room was left iherein : fo, if af- ter entering the PafTage on Beauty, I mould have occafion for Benevolence^ or the like, finding the Number 2 already poffelVd of the Space of this Characteristic, I begin the Paf- fage on Benevolence in the Remainder of the Page, which not containing the whole, I carry it on to Page 3, which is alfo for B c ; and add the Number 3 in the Index.
An Example will make the Method of writing down Heads obvious.
Beauty. ' The Power of perceiving the Ideas of Beauty ' is juftly call'd a Senfe, becaufe of its affinity to
- the other Scnfes in this, That the Pleafure does
' not arife from any Knowledge of Principles, Pro- 4 portions, Caufes, or of the Ufefulnefs of the Ob- ' ject ; but ftrikes us at firft with the Idea of Beau- 1 ty : nor does the moil accurate Knowledge increafe
- rhis Pleafure of Beauty ; however, it may fu-
- peradd a diftinct rational Pleafure from Profpects
c of Advantage, or from the Increafe of Knowledge. 1 And further, the Ideas of Beauty, like other fenfi- ' ble Ideas, are neceffarily pleafant to us, as well as 1 immediately fo ; neither can any Refolution of ( our own, nor any Profpect of Advantage or Difad- c vantage, vary the Beauty or Deformity of an Ob- ' ject : For as in the external Senfations, no View
- of Intercft will make an Object grateful ; nor De-
- triment, diftinct from immediate Pain in the Per-
- ception, make it difagreeable to the Senfe ; fo,
6 propofe the World as a Reward, or threaten the
( greateft Evil, to make us approve a deformed Ob- c ject, or difapprove a beautiful one 5 Diffimulation
- may be procur'd by Rewards, or Threatnings ; or
- we may in external Conduit, abftain from any Pur-
- fuit of the Beautiful, and purfue the deformed 5
- but our Sentiments of the Forms, and ou? Percep-
- tions would continue invariably the fame. Hence,
- it plainly appears, that fome Objects are immedi-
- ately the Occafions of this Pleafure of Beauty j
- and that we have Senfes fitted for perceiving it j
' and that it is diftinct from that Joy which arifes
- from Self-love, upon profpect of Advantage. Nay,
- do not we often fee Conveniency and Ufe negleft-
' ed to obtain Beauty, without any other Profpeft ' of Advantage in the beautiful Form, than the
- fuggefting the pleafant Ideas of Beauty ? Now this
' /hews us, that however we may purfue beautiful
- Objects from Self-love, with a View to obtain the
- Pleafures of Beauty ; as in Architecture, Garden-
1 ' n gi €£?£« y et there muft be a Senfe of Beauty an-
- tecedent to Profpects of even this Advantage :
4 without which Senfe, thefe Objects would not be
- thus advantageous 5 nor excite in us this Pleafure
- which conftitutes 'em advantageous. Our Senfe
' of Beauty, from Objects by which they are confti- c tuted good to us, is very diftinct from our Defire
- of 'em, when they are thus conftituted : Our De-
- fire of Beauty may be counterbalance by Re-
' wards and PuniiTiments, but never our Senfe of it.
- Had we no fuch Senfe of Beauty, Houfes, Gardens,
- Drefs, Equipage, might be recommended to us as
' convenient, fruitful, warm, eafy ; but never as beau- c tiful : And in Faces, I fee nothing that cou'd pleafe 1 us, but Livelinefs of Colour, and Smoothnefs of 1 Surface. — Inquiry into the Original of our Ideas of ' Beauty, &c. %vo, Lond. 1725^.10,11,12.
Benevolence. * The true Spring of all Actions called ' Firtuous, is fome Determination of our Nature to ' ftudy the Good of others ; or fome Inftinct, ante*
- cedent to all Reafon from Intercft ; which influ-
' ences us to the Love of others. — The fame Caufe
- which determines us to purfue Happinefs for our
- felves, determines us to Efteem and Benevolencf-
' for others : even the very Frame of our Nature, or
- a generous Inftinct. — This univerfal Benevolence
- towards all Men, we may compare to that Princi-
- pie of Gravitation; which extends to all Bodies in
- the Univerfe, but like the Love of Benevolence,
1 increafes as the Diftance is diminifh'd ; and is 1 ftrongeft when Bodies come to touch each other.
- Id. lb. p. 131,143,199.— As all Men have Self-love,
- as well as Benevolence - thofe two Principles may
- jointly excite a Man to the fame Action : and then
- they are to be confider ! d as two Forces impelling
- the fame Body to Motion ; Sometimes they con-
, * fpire
