Page 273

CO M                            ( 273 )                          C O M
ly,, the Adminifiration of vacant Hifhopricks be-  Rational Whole Number;
or as one Rational Whole 14und-
Id to the neareit neighbouring Bifhop; which is till ber to another. See
NUMBER.                   -
pra~is'd between the Archbifhoprick of Lyons, and the    In Incommenffurables
'tis otherwife. The Ratio of Con*-
;ighoprick of Autun: on this account they were call'd Com- menfurables therefore
is Rational; that of IncommenfuraA
gndatory .ijhops.                                      bles Irrational: Hence,
alfo, the Exponent of the Ratio of
This Cuffom appears to be very antient: S. .1lrana'lw  Commenafurables is
a Rational Number. See RATIO.
Lays of himfelf, according to Nicephorus, that there bad  COMMENSURABLE Numbers,
whether Integers or Frac-
leen given him in Commendam, i. e. in Adminifiration, ano- tions, are fuch
as have fome other Number which will mea-
tber Church befides that of Alexandria, whereof he was fure or divide them
without any Remainder. See NUMBEa.
Ptated Bifhop.                                           Thus, 6 and 8, '_
and -3 are refpedtively Commeniurable
The Care of Churches, it feems, which had no Paftor, Numbers.
was committed to a Bifhop, till they were provided of an  COMMENSURABLE in
Power. Right Lines are Laid to be
Ordinary : The Regifler of Pope Gregory 1. is full of thefe  Commenfurable
in Poqver, when their Squares are meafur'd
Gommiffions, or Commendams, granted during the Abfence  by one and the fame
Space, or Superficies. See LINE.
or Sicknefs of a Bilhop, or the Vacancy of the See.      COMMENSURABLE Surds,
are fuch Surds as being reduc'd
Some fay, that Pope Leo IV. firfi fet the modern Commen- to their leadt Terms,
become true figurative Quantities of
Ams on foot, in favour of Ecclefiaffics who had been ex- their Kind; and
are therefore as a Rational Quantity to a
pell'd their Benefices by the Saracens; to whom the Admi- Rational. See SURD.
nifiration of the vacant Churches was committed for a time,  COMMENTARY,
or COMMENT, an Interpretation,
in expedation of their being reflor'd: tho S. Gregory is faid  Glofs, or
Addition, made to an antient, obfcure, or difficult
to have ufed the fame, while the Lombards defolated Italy. Author, to render
him more intelligible, or to fupply what
In a little time, the praalice of Commendams was exceed- he has left undone.
ingly abus'd; and the Revenues of Monafteries given to   Sir Hen. Savil has
wrote a Commentary of 3oo Pages in
Laymen for their Subfifience. The Bifhops alfo procur'd  Quarto, to explain
the firff eight Propofitions in Euclid.
feveral Benefices, or even Bilhopricks in Commendam ;    S. Evremond obferves,
that Commentators commonly fpend
which ferv'd as a Pretext for holding 'em all; without di- a great part of
their time in finding out Beauties the Au-
redfly violating the Canons. Part of the Abufe has been re-  thor never dreamt
of, and in enriching him with their own
trench'd; but the Ufe of Commendams is hill retain'd, as  Thoughts.
an Expedient to take off the Incompatibility of the Perfon,  COMMENTARY is
alfo ufed for a fort of Hiflory, written
by the Nature of the Benefice.                         by the Perfon who
had the chief hand in the Tranfodions
When a Parfon is made Bifhop, his Parfonage becomes  related. See HISTORY.
vacant; but if the King give him Power, he may fiill hold  Such are the Commentaries
of Cefar, of Afontluc, &c.
it in Commendam.                                         The Word is alfo
ufed for certain Books wrote on fome par-
COMMENDAM, in many Romijh Countries, is a real Title  ticular Subjea : Thus,
Kepler has wrote an excellent Book
of a Regular Benefice; as an Abby or Priory given by the  of Commentaries
on Mars; containing Oloervations on the
Pope to a Secular Clerk, or even to a Layman, with Power Motion of that Planet.
to difpofe of the Fruits thereof during his Life. See ABBOT.  COMMERCE, Grade,
the Exchange of Commodities;
No Benefice that has a Cure of Souls, i. e. no Curacy, or or, the buying,
Telling, or trafficking of Merchandife, Mo
Bifhoprick can be given in Commendam. This Praafice be- ney, or even Paper;
in order to profit by the Pame. See
I .           .     1            I   I         I- ne_   ree      ae5   nretpi
b          h    ae     e
itirely contrary to tne Canons, none Dut the rope, wno  MERCHANDISE.
Power of difpenfing with the Canons, can confer it.  There is no doubt but
Commerce is nearly as antient as
ien the Commendam becomes vacant by the Death of the World it Lelf: Neceflity
fet it on foot, the Defire of
ommcndatary, it is not efceem'd vacant by his Death; Conveniency improv'd
it, and Vanity, Luxury, and Avarice,
S it was vacant before the Commendam was granted, have brought it to its
prefent Pitch. At firf* it only confifled
naking no Alteration in the Thing: Yet the Pope   in the Exchange of Things
neceffary for Life: The Plow-
the Lame Benefice in Commendam again, by a Privilege  man gave his Grain
and his Pulfe to the Shepherd, and re-
h he bill continues.                              ceiv'd Milk and Wool in
exchange: Which Method of
the Pope's Bulls, a Commendatary Abbot has the full Commerce by Exchange
fubfiffs fill in many Places; as
ority of the Regular Abbot to whom he is fubflituted: about the Coafis of
Siberia, and the D)anifb and Mufco-
is exprefs'd in plain Terms, Curam Monafierii ac re- vite Lapland; among
feveral Nations on the Coafls of A-
n W admififtrationem tibi in fpiritualibus & tempora- frica; among moff
of thofe of -America, and many of A-
plene committendo. For this reafon, the Bulls exprefly fia. See EXCHANGE.
re, that he be a Priefd; or, that if he han't yet at-  'Tis not precifely
known when the Commerce by buying
d the Age of Priefhood, he Jhall take Orders as foon  and felling frit began,
nor when Coins, and the feveral Spe-
has. But this is a mere Formality, or matter of Style; cies of Gold, Silver,
and Copper had their rife. The frft'
'hing is never executed.                          Monies were Wood, Leather,
and Iron ; and even at this
deed, the Lpiritual Direction of the Abby, while in  day, 'tis the Cuflom
in Lome Places of both Indies, to give
vendam, is lodg'd wholly in the Claufiral IPrior. The  a certain Value in
Sea-Shells and Coco-Nuts, for Merchan-
tendatary Abbots have not any Authority over the  difes, Drugs, ec. See MONEY,
and COIN.
gious in fpirituali bus: they even cannot either appoint  The firff Inilance
of this kind of Commerce in thefacred
t afide the Clauftral Priors, who are nominated in the  I-itiing, is in the
Time of the Patriarch Abraham.  For
the Adminittrators of the Spiritualty; in which, how- profane Authors, they
ufitally fix its Epocha to the Reign
this Reffri~lion is added, viz. till the Abbot arrive at of Saturn and .7anus
in Italy i and the antient Authors, ac-
Age of 2.5 Years, to afrume the Prieflhood. The Bull cording to Cdigar, attribute
its Invention to the God Mercury.
the Prince of Neubourg for the Abby of Fefcamp runs  The Egyptians, fPhnicians,
and Carthaginians, who
Et nte ob defeflum  /tatis primo-ditlurn Monafteri- were a Tyrian Colony,
were the firfi, the mofd daring and
aliqued ina Jiritualibus paniatur detrimentum ; prio-  expert Traders of
all Antiquity : at leaf, 'cis evident they
*!azifralem pro temnpore exiftentem, primo-didi Monaf- were the firfi who
run the Hazard of long Voyages; and
in fpiritualibgs, dlonec tru z rta'e ltatis annum perve- who fet on foot
a Traffick by Sea between Coafis very re-
s, duntaxar co7iruimusi ac deputamirs. The Words mote. See NAVIGATION.
inifiraion in SPirittuals, are underlood principally of  Among the Antients,
Commerce did not appear unworthy
4onaftic Rule, or Difcipline; from which the Abbots the Application of Perfons
of the firfl Rank: Solomon, we
xcluded, even when they are promoted to the Priefthood, are told, frequently
join'd his Merchant-Fleets with thofe of
is they become Regulars.                          the King of 24yre, for
their Voyage to Ophir; and by this
ie Popes grant Benefices in Commendam, not only to  means render'd himfelf,
tho in a little Kingdom, the richeft
:s, by difpenfing with their Age, and other Qualifica- King in the Univerfe.
Under the .fiatic and Grecian Em-
requir'd; but alfo difpenfe with the Clericate in' Chil- pires, antient Hiflory
gives us from time to time the Traces
yet in the Cradle, till they become of age to take the  of a Commerce cultivated
by feveral Nations : but it flou-
fure: It being fuilicient to obtain a Bull, that it be re- rifh'd more confiderably
under the Dominion of the Romans;
nted at Rome, that the Child is dellin'd for the Eccle- as appears from that
vafi Number of Colleges and Compa-
cal State.                                        nies of Merchants in the
feveral Cities, mention'd in Hifto-
this Cafe there is an Oecono7nms, or Steward, appoint- rians and antient
Infcriptions. See COLLEGE.
P take care of the temporal Concerns.               The Defirudion of the
Roman Empire by the Irruptions
)MMENSURABLE 9)uantities, in Geometry, are        of the Barbarians, brought
that of Commerce along with it;
as have fome common aliquot Part, or which may be  or at leafi Lufpended
its ordinary Operation for Lome time5
ur'd by Lome common Meafure, Lo as to leave no Re- By degrees itbegan to
recover it felf, and made a new pro-
ider in either. See MEASURE.                      gres; efpeciallyin Italy.
hus, a Foot and a Yard are Conmmenfirable ; there be-  Hence, the Pifans,
Florentines, Genoeft, and  enetirans,
third Quantity which will megfure each, viz. an Inch; who abounded in Shipping,
took occafion to fpread them-
1h taken 1i times makes a Foot, and 36 times a Tard. Lelves thro' all the
Parts ofthe Levant and ebpt ; bringing
QUANTITY.                                         thence Silk, Spices, and
other Merchandizes- and firnifling
wMenfurables are to each other, either as Unites to a  the greatefi part
of Europe therewith,  wL thus was the
B b b b               modern
,.r
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