I N F 
l N F 
cm , which they are presumed capable of act- 
ing with reason and discretion ; in our law 
tiie- full age of man or woman is 21 years. 
3 Bac. Abr. 113. 
'Hie ages of male and fema'e are different 
for different purposes: a male at 12 years of 
age may take the oath of allegiance; at 14 
i.s at discretion, and therefore may consent or 
disagree to marriage, may choose his guardian, 
and if his discretion is actually proved, may 
make his testament of his personal estate ; at 
3 7 lie may be a procurator or an executor ; 
and at 2 1 is at Iris own disposal, and may 
alien his lands, goods, and chattels. A fe- 
male at seven years of age may be betrothed 
or given in marriage; at nine is entitled to 
dower ; and at 12 is of years of maturity, and 
therefore may consent or disagree to" mar- 
riage, and if proved 1 1 ha ve sufficient discre- 
tion may bequeath her personal estate ; at 
14 is at years of legal discretion, and may 
choose a guardian ; at 17 may be executrix; 
and at 21 may dispose of herself and her 
lands. 1 Black. 463. 
An infant is capable of inheriting, for the 
law presumes him capable of property ; also 
an infant may purchase, because it is "intend- 
ed for his benefit, and the freehold is in him 
till he disagrees thereto, because an agree- 
ment is presumed, it being for his benefit, 
and because the freehold cannot be in the 
grantor contrary to his own act, nor can be 
in abeyance, for then a stranger would not 
know against whom to demand his right ; and 
if at his full age the infant agrees to the pur- 
chase, he cannot afterwards avoid it ; but if 
he dies during his minority his heirs may 
avoid it, for they shall not be bound by the 
contracts of a person who'wanted capacity to 
contract. Co. Lilt. 2. 
As to infants being witnesses, there seeim 
to be no fixed time at which children. are ex- 
cluded from giving evidence; but it will de- 
pend in a great measure on the sense aud un- 
derstanding of the children, as it shall appeal 
on examination in court. Bull. N. P. 293. 
And where they are admitted, concurrenl 
testimony seems peculiarly desirable. 4 Bla. 
214. 
An infant is not bound by his contract tc 
deliver a thing ; so if one deliver goods to an 
infant upon a contract, &c. knowing him tc 
be an infant, he shall not be chargeable in 
trover and conversion, or any other action 
for. them ; for the infant is not capable of any 
contract but for necessaries, therefore such 
delivery is a gift to the infant ; but if an in- 
fant, without any contract, wilfully takes away 
the goods of another, trover lies against him; 
also it is said, that if he takes the goods under 
pretence that he is of full age, trover lies, be- 
cause it is a wilful and fraudulent trespass.' 1 
Sid. 129. 
Infants are disabled to contract for any 
thing but necessaries for their person, suit- 
able to their degree and quality ; and what is 
necessary must be left to the jury. Co. Litt 
172. 
An infant, knowing of a fraud, shall be as 
much bound as if of age. 13 Yin. Abr. 536. 
■, But it is -held that this rule is confined to 
such acts only as are voidable; and that a 
warrant of attorney given by an infant being 
absolutely void, the court w’ill not confirm it, 
though the infant appeared to have given it, 
knowing it was not good, and for the purpose 
Csf collusion. 
I X F 
As to act- of infants being void, or <5bfy 
voidable, there is a diversity between an ac- 
tual delivery of tire thing contracted for, and 
a bare agreement to deliver it ; the first is 
voidable, but the last absolutely void. 
As necessaries for an infant’s wife are ne- 
cessaries for him, he is chargeable for them, 
unless provided before marriage ; in which 
case he is not answerable, though she wore 
them afterward. 1 Str. 168. 
An infant is also liable lor the nursing of 
his lawful child. 
Where goods are furnished to the son, he is 
himself liable if they are necessaries. If trades- 
men deal with him, and he undertakes to pay 
them, they must resort to him for payment ; 
but if they furnished the infant on the credit 
of his father, the father only is liable. 2 Esp. 
471. J 1 
W ith respect to education, &c. infants may 
be charged, where the credit was given bona 
tide to them. But where the infant is under 
the parent’s power, and living in the house 
with them, he shall not be liable even for ne- 
cessaries. 2 Black. Rep. 1325. 
It a taylor trusts a young man, under age, 
for clothes to an extravagant degree-, he can- 
not recover; and he is bound to know whe- 
ther he deals at the same time with any other 
taylor. 1 Esp. Rep. 212. 
If one lends money to an infant to pay a 
debt for necessaries, and he pays it, al- 
though he is not bound in law, it is "said he is 
in equity ; but if the infant misapplies the 
money it is at the peril of the lender. 
A promissory note given by an infant for 
board and lodging, and for teaching him a 
trade, is valid, and will support an action for 
the money. 1 T. R. 41. 
And debts contracted during infancy are 
good considerations to support a promise 
made to them when a person is of full age ; 
but the promise must be express. 
A bond without a penalty for necessaries 
will bind an infant, but not a bond with a pe- 
nalty. Esp. Rep. 164. 
Legacies to infants cannot be paid either 
to them or their parents. 
An infant cannot be a juror! neither can lie | 
lie an attorney, bailiff, factor, or receiver j 
Co. Lit. 172. ' 
By the custom of London an yifantunmarri- i 
ed, and above the age of 14, if under 21, may 
bind himsell apprentice to a freeman of Lon- 
don, by indenture with proper covenants, 
which covenants, by the custom of London, 
will he as binding as if of age. 
If an infant draws a bill of exchange, yet he 
shall not be liable on the custom of mer- 
chants ; but he .may plead infancy in the 
same manner as he may to any other con- 
tract. 
An infant cannot be sued but under the 
protection and joining the name of his guar- 
dian ; but he may sue either by his guardian, 
or his next friend, who is not his guardian. 
Co. Lit. 135V 
An action on an account stated will not lie 
•against an infant, though it should be for ne- 
cessaries. Co. Lit. 1 72. 
IN FIN IT E, Or INFINITELY GREAT LINE, 
in georqetry, denotes only an indefinite or in- 
determinate line, to which no certain bounds, 
ox. limits, are prescribed. 
INLINE! ESIMALS, among mathemati- 
C 2 
9 
Ciafis, are defined to be infinitely small qua 
titles. 
In the method of infinitesimals, (lie Ce- 
ment, by w hich any quantity increases or d< 
creases, is supposed to be" infinitely si nab, 
and is generally expressed by two- or more 
terms, some of which are infinitely less ti.-.i* 
the rest, which being neglected as of no im- 
portance, the remaining terms form what is 
called the difference of the proposed .quan- 
tity. The terms, that are neglected in this 
manner, as infinitely less than the other terms 
of the element, are the very same which arise 
in consequence of the acceleration,, or retar - 
.elation, of the generating motion, during. the 
infinitely small time, in which the element is 
generated; so that the remaining terms ex- 
press the elements that w ould have been pro- 
duced in that time, if the generating motion 
had continued uniform : therefore those dif- 
ferences are accurately in the same ratio to 
each other as the genes ating motions or flux- 
ions. And hence, though in this method infi- 
nitesimal parts of the elements are neglected, 
the conclusions are accurately true Without 
even an infinitely small error, and agree pre- 
cisely with those that are deduced by the me- 
thod by fluxions. 
For example (see Plate Miscel. fig. 136), 
when DG, the increment of the base AD, of 
the triangle ADE, is supposed to become in- 
finitely little, the trapezium DGHE (the si- 
multaneous increment of the triangle) consists 
of two parts, the parallelogram Ltd, and the 
triangle EIH; the latter of which i infi- 
nitely less than the former, their ratio bein». 
that of one-half DG to AD: therefore, ac- 
cording to this method in fluxions, the part 
EfH is neglected, and the remaining part, 
viz. the parallelogram EG, is the deference 
of the triangle ADE. Now it might be shewn, 
that EG- is precisely that part of, the incre- 
ment of the triangle ADE which is generated 
by the motion with which this triangle flows, 
and that EIH is the part of the same incre- 
ment which is generated in consequence of 
the acceleration of this motion, while the 
base, by flowing uniformly, acquires the arm- 
I merit DG, whether DG "be supposed finite 
or infinitely less. 
Example 2 , The increment'T^LMHG 
(hg. 137) of the rectangle AE, consists of the 
parallelograms EG, EM, and 17/ ; the last of 
which, lA, becomes infinitely less thaa EG 
or EM, when DG and DM, the increments 
.of the sides, are supposed infinitely small ; be- 
cause I/i is supposed to be to EG as’ LM to AL, 
and to EM as DG to AD; therefore, I// be- 
ing neglected, the sum of the parallelograms 
EG and EM is the difference of the rect- 
angle AE: and the sum of EG and EM is 
the space that would lia.ve been generated hv 
the motion with which the rectangle A E flow’s 
continued uniformly, but that I/r.is the part 
of the increment of the rectangle which is ge- 
nerated inconsequence of the accelerationof 
this motion, in the time that AD and AL 
by flowing uniformly, acquire the augments 
DG and LM. The same may be observed 
in propositions wherein the fluxions of quan- 
tities are determined; and thus the manner 
of investigating the differences, -or fluxions 
of quantities, in the method of infinitesimals, 
may be deduced from the principles of the 
metliqd of fluxions. For instead of neglect- 
ing EIH because it is infinitely less than 
EG, (according te the usual manner of re* 1 - 
