ASSI SE, in old law-books, is defined 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, m 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 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. OC oy.r And terminer, by which they are empowered to try treasons, felonies, &c. 2. Of gaol-delive ry, which empowers them to try every prisoner in gaol, for 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 pries, 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 county of the circuit ; and all justices of peace of the county, and sheriffs, are to attend upon the judges, otherwise they shall be fined.
ASSOCIAT1ON,of 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 our 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 *peaking, 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 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 notions, what reasonings, will there be about separate spirits ? Let custom, from the very child hood, have joined figure and shape to the idea of God ; and what abusurdities will that mind be liable to about the Deity ? Some such wrong and unnatural associa tions of ideas will be found to establish the irreconcileable opposition between different sects of philosophy and religion ; for we cannot suppose that every one of their followers will impose wilfully on himself, and knowingly refuse truth offer ed by plain reason. Some independent ideas, of no alliance to one another, are, by custom, education, and the constant din of their party, so coupled in their minds, that they always appear there to gether, and they can no more separate them in their thoughts, than if they were but one idea ; and they operate as if they were so.