854 COM 
bably Linnaeus was of the fame opinion. Native of the 
Baft Indies and Cochinchina, where it is a weed in their 
gardens. 
ia. Commelina Japonica, or Japan commelina : leaves 
ovate-lanceolate, waved; (tem ereft, angular hairy; flow¬ 
ers panicled. Stem grooved, ereft, hairy, panicled at 
top, a foot high ; leaves alternate, fheathing, oblong, 
acute, fmooth, the lower ones a finger’s length, the up¬ 
per ones an inch. Flowers on the panicled branches in 
racemes! Native of Japan. 
■Propagation and Culture. All the forts are propagated 
by feeds; the firft will grow if fown in the full ground; 
but, if the feeds are. (own upon a warm border of light 
earth in autumn, the plants will rife early in the fpring; 
fo from thefe good feeds may be expedited, if the fcafon 
proves favourable: whereas thofe which are fown in the 
fpring, often lie long in the ground, and rarely ripen 
their, leed. Thefe plants have but little beauty, fo that 
two Or three of each fort is as many as moff people choofe 
to have; therefore if the feeds are fown in autumn where 
the'plants are defigned to remain, or the feeds permitted 
to fcatter, the plants will require no farther care, but to 
keep them clear from weeds. The fecond feldom ripens 
feeds in England, but the roots fend out offsets, by which 
the plant is eaftiy propagated. But it is too tender to live 
in the full ground in winter, unlefs it has a warm flickered 
fituation; therefore- fhould be planted in pots, and (hei- 
tered under a common frame in winter, and expofed 
abroad in fummer; the befc time to tranfplant and part 
thefe roots is about the end of March. The other forts 
are tender; their feeds therefore muff be fown on a mode- 
1 te hot-bed in the fpring, and, when the plants are two 
inches high, they fhould be tranfpianted to a frefli hot¬ 
bed to bring the plants forward; when they have taken 
frefli root, they fhould have a large (hare of frefh air ad¬ 
mitted to them every day in warm weather, to prevent 
their growing weak; and in June thefe may be carefully 
taken up, and tranfplanted on a warm border of light 
earth, obferving to (hade them till they have taken frefli 
root; after which they will require no other care, but to 
keep them clean from weeds. With this management 
the plants will flower and. produce good feeds. The fe¬ 
cond and fixth forts may be continued, if they are planted 
in pots, and in autumn placed in the bark-ftove; or if 
the roots of the fixtli lort are taken out of the ground in 
autumn, and kept in a warm place in winter, they may 
be planted again in.the fpring, placing them on a hot¬ 
bed to forward their (hooting, -and tnefe will produce 
ftronger plants than thofe which rile from feeds. See 
T R.ADESCANTIA. 
COMME'MORABLE. adj. Deferving to be mentioned 
with honour; worthy to be kept in remembrance. 
i OMME'MORAT E, ns. a. [con and memoro , Lat.J 
To preferve the memory by fume public aft; to celebrate 
foiejfrinly.—Such is the divine mercy which we now com¬ 
memorate ; and, if-we commemorate it, we fliall re.mce in 
the Lord. Fiddes. 
COMMEMOR A'TION, /. An aft of public celebra¬ 
tion ; folemr.izatipn of the memory of any thing.— i hat 
which is daily offered in the church, is a daily commemo¬ 
ration of that one facrifice c fibred on the crofs. Taylor. — 
Comtnemoratlon was formerly made, w ith thankfgiving, in 
honour of good men departed this worid. Aylijfe. 
COMML'MORATIVE, adj. Tending to preserve me¬ 
mory of any thing.—The original ule of facrifice was 
commemorative of the original revelation ; a fort of daily 
memorial or record of what God declared, and man be¬ 
lieved. Forbes- 
To COMMEN'CE, «v. n. [commencer, Fr.J To begin; 
to take beginning.—Man, confcious of his immortality., 
cannot be without concern for that llate that is to com- 
mence after this life. Rogers. —To take a new charafter : 
If wit fo much from ign’rance undergo, 
Ah ! let not learning too commence its foe. Pope. 
To COMME'NCE, <v. a. To begin; to make a begin¬ 
ning of; as, to commence a fait; 
C O M 
Mod fhallovvly did you thefe arms commence, 
Fondly brought here, and foolilhly lent hence. Shakejp. 
COMMENCEMENT, f. Beginning; date.—The wa¬ 
ters w'ere gathered together into one place, the third day 
from the commencement of the creation. Woodward.—-N 
time let apart for conferring degrees publicly in the uni- 
verfity of Cambridge. Mafon s Supp. 
To COMME'ND, <v. a. [commendo, Lat.J To reprefent 
as worthy of notice, regard, or kindnefs ; to recommend. 
—Vain-glory is a principle I commend to no man. Decay of 
Piety. —Among the objefts of knowledge, two efpecially 
commend themfelves to our contempt i n ; the knowledge 
of God, and the knowledge of ou: ’fives. Hale. —To de¬ 
liver up with confidence.—Father, into thy hands I ccm- 
mend my fpirit. Luke. 
To thee I do commend my watchful foul. 
Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes: 
Sleeping and w aking, O defend me (till ! Shakefpeare: 
To praife ; to mention with approbation.—Hiltorians 
commend Alexander for weeping when lie read the aftions 
of Achilles. Dryden. 
Who is Silvia? What is (he, 
That all our fwains conmend her ? 
Holy, fair, and wife, is (he. Shakefpeare. 
To mention by way of keeping in memory; to recom¬ 
mend to remembrance: 
Signior Anthcnio 
Commends him to you.— 
—Ere 1 ope his letter, 
I pray you tell me. how my good friend doth. Shakefpeare „ 
To produce to favourable notice.—The chorus was only 
to give the young ladies an occaflon of entertaining the 
French king with vocal mufic, and of commending their 
own voices. Dryden. —To fend : 
Thefe draw the chariot which Latinus fends, 
And the rich prelent to the prince commends. Dryden » 
COMME'ND, f. Commendation. Not now in life . 
Tell her I fend to her my kind commends: 
Take fpecial care my greetings be deliver’d. Shakefpeare . 
COMMEND'ABLE!, adj. Laudable; worthy of praife. 
Anciently accented on the fir,r /y liable.—Order and de¬ 
cent ceremonies in the church, are not only comely, but 
commendable. Bacon, 
COMMEND ABLT, adv. Laudably ; in a manner' 
worthy of commendation.—Of preachers the fliire holdeth 
a number, all commendably labouring in their vocation., 
Caretw. 
COMMEN'DAM, f. [ecclefia commendata, <vel cujlo- 
dia ecilefia alicui commijja . J is the holding of a benefice or 
church-living, which being void, is commended to the 
charge and care of lbnie iuflicient clerk, to be fupplied 
until it may be conveniently provided of a paftor: and 
he to whom the churcu is commended, hath the profits 
thereof only for a certain time, and the nature of the 
church is, not changed thereby, but is as a thing depo- 
fited in his hands in truit, who hath nothing but the 
cuflody of it, which may. be revoked. When a parfon is 
made bifhop, there is a cellation or voidance of his bene¬ 
fice, by the promotion; but if tilt king by lpecial difpen- 
fat-ion gives hint power to retain his benefice, notwith- 
ftanding his promotion he fliall continue parfon, and is 
then laid to hold it in commendam. Hob. 144. the king 
is the means of avoidances on promotions to dignities, 
and the prefentations thereon belong to him, he often on 
the creation of bifhops grants them licences to hold their 
benefices in commendam ; but this is ufually where the 
bifhopricks are jmall, for the better fupport of the dig¬ 
nity of the bifhop promoted: and it mult be aiw'ays be¬ 
fore cdju'ecration; for afterwards it comes too late, be- 
caufe the benefice is then abfolutely void. A commen¬ 
dam, founded on the ftalute 25 Hen. VIII. c. 21, is a dif- 
penlation from the fupreme power, to hold or take an 
3 ecclefiaftical 
