ASS- 



ASS 



with the substance to which it is united 

 in the stomach, even after the substance 

 has been completely assimilated, and 

 made a part of the body of the animal. 

 Thus there is an affinity "between the co- 

 louring" matter of madder and phosphate 

 of lime ; and when madder is taken into 

 the stomach, it combines with the phos- 

 phate of lime of the food, passes with it 

 through the lacteals and blood-vessels, 

 and is deposited with it in the bones. In 

 the same way musk, indigo, See. when 

 taken into the stomach, make their way 

 into many of the secretions. These facts 

 prove that assimilation is a chemical pro- 

 cess; that all the changes are produced 

 according 1 to the laws of chemistry ; and 

 Dr. Thompson adds, that we can derange 

 the regularity of the process, by intro- 

 ducing' substances whose mutual affinities 

 are too strong for the organs to overcome. 

 See PHYSIOLOGY. 



ASSJSE,in old law-books, is denned to 

 be an assembly of knights and other sub- 

 stantial men, with the justice, in a certain 

 place, and at a certain time : but the word, 

 in its present acceptation, is used for the 

 court, place, or time, when and where the 

 writs and processes, whether civil or 

 criminal, are decided by judges and jury. 

 In this signification assise is either gene- 

 ral, when judges make their respective 

 circuits, with commission to take all as- 

 sise ; or special, where a commission is 

 granted to particular persons for taking 

 an assise upon one or two disseisins only. 

 By magna charta, justices shall be sent 

 through every county, once a year, who, 

 with the knights of the several shires, 

 shall take assise of novel disseisin ; and 

 as to the general assise, all the counties 

 of England are divided into six circuits, 

 and two judges are assigned by the king's 

 commission to every circuit, who now 

 hold the assises twice a year, in every 

 county, except Middlesex, where the 

 courts of record sit, and the counties pa- 

 latine. These judges have five several 

 commissions. 1. Of oy feJ - ;md terminer, 

 by which they are empowered to try 

 treasons, felonies, &c. 2. Of gaol-delive- 

 ry, which empowers them to try every 

 prisoner in guol, Tor whatever offence he 

 be committed. 3. Of assise, which gives 

 them power to do right upon writs 

 brought by persons wrongfully thrust out 

 of their lands and possessions' 4. Of nisi 

 priiis, by which civil causes come to is- 

 sue in the courts above, are tried in the 

 vacation by a jury of twelve men, in the 

 county where the cause of action arises. 

 5. A commission of the peace in every 

 Dunty of the circuit ; and all justices of 



peace of the county, and sheriffs, are to 

 attend upon the judges, otherwise they 

 shall be fined. 



ASSOCIATION.o/ ideas, is where two 

 or more ideas constantly and immediately 

 follow one another, so that the one shall 

 almost infallibly produce the other, whe- 

 ther there be any natural relation between 

 them or not. 



When our ideas have a natural corres- 

 pondence and connection one with ano- 

 ther, it is the office and excellency of one 

 reason to trace these, and hold them to- 

 gether in that union and correspondence 

 which is founded in their peculiar beings. 

 But when there is no affinity between 

 them, nor any cause to be assigned for 

 their accompanying each other, but what 

 is owing to mere accident or custom, this 

 unnatural association becomes a great im- 

 perfection, and is, generally speaking, a 

 main cause of error, or wrong deductions 

 in reasoning. 



To this wrong association of ideas, made 

 in our minds by custom, Mr. Locke attri- 

 butes most of the sympathies and antipa- 

 thies observable in men, which work as 

 strongly, and produce as regular effects^ 

 as if they were natural, though they at 

 first had no other original than the 'acci- 

 dental connection of two ideas, which, 

 either by the strength of the first impres- 

 sion, or future indulgence, are so united, 

 that they ever after keep company toge- 

 ther in that man's mind, as if they were 

 but one idea. 



The ideas of goblins and spirits have 

 really no more to do with darkness than 

 light ; yet, let but these be inculcated 

 often in the mind of a child, and there 

 raised together, possibly he shall never 

 be able to separate them again as long as 

 he lives, but darkness shall ever after- 

 wards bring with it these frightful ideas. 



So, if a man receive an injury from an- 

 other, and think on the man and that ac- 

 tion over and over, by ruminating on them 

 strongly, he so cements these two ideas 

 together, that he makes them almost one ; 

 he never thinks on the man, but the place 

 and displeasure he suffered come into his 

 mind with it, so that he scarce distin- 

 guishes them, but has as much aversion 

 for the one as the other. Thus hatreds 

 are often begotten from slight and almost 

 innocent occasions, and quarrels are pro- 

 pagated and continued in the world. 



Nor is its influence on the intellectual 

 habits less powerful, though less observ- 

 ed. Let the ideas of being and matter be 

 strongly joined, either by education or 

 much thought, whilst these are still com- 

 bined in the mind, what noiiens, what 



