Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/483

 Ch. 18.

E have hitherto conidered perons in their natural capacities, and have treated of their rights and duties. But, as all peronal rights die with the peron; and, as the neceary forms of inverting a eries of individuals, one after another, with the ame identical rights, would be very inconvenient, if not impracticable; it has been found neceary, when it is for the advantage of the public to have any particular rights kept on foot and continued, to contitute artificial perons, who may maintain a perpetual ucceion, and enjoy a kind of legal immortality.

artificial perons are called bodies politic, bodies coporate, (corpora corporata) or corporations: of which there is a great variety ubiting, for the advancement of religion, of learning, and of commerce; in order to preerve entire and for ever thoe rights and immunities, which, if they were granted only to thoe individuals of which the body corporate is compoed, would upon their death be utterly lot and extinct. To hew the advantages of thee incorporations, let us conider the cae of a college in either of our univerities, founded ad tudendum et orandum, for the encouragement and upport of religion and learning. If this was a mere voluntary aembly, the individuals which compoe it might indeed read, pray, tudy, and perform cholatic exercies together, o long as they could agree to do o: but they Rh