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# Commonplace Books - Commonplaces
- URL: https://mereorthodoxy.com/jake-commonplaces/
- Published: 2016-12-09T16:17:45.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-20T20:12:41.000Z
- Description: This is an introduction post for Jake's Commonplaces Book.
- Author: Mere Orthodoxy
- Tags: Jake Meador

During the early modern era, it was typical that young students would compile what was called a commonplaces book.

These books were simply selections from the various things a student was reading. Significantly, however, commonplace books are not usually organized chronologically, as would be the case with journals. Rather, they are arranged topically and provide a ready-made collection of excerpts that the student found particularly moving, instructive, or otherwise useful.

I plan to use this blog in roughly that fashion. This will be a place where I post regular excerpts from things I am reading. In many ways, this is simply a helpful thing for me so even if no one ever visits this site, it will still be of use to me as a repository of quotes and ideas that I have found helpful in some way.