body politic, or incorporate, so called, because the persons or members are joined into one body, and are qualified to take and grant, &c.

Corporations are either spiritual or temporal: spiritual, as bishops, deans, archdeacons, parsons, vicars, &c. Temporal, as mayor, commonalty, bailiff, burgesses, &c. And some corporations are of a mixed nature, composed of spiritual and temporal persons, such as heads of colleges and hospitals, &c. All corporations are said to be ecclesiastical or lay: ecclesiastical are either regular, as abbeys, priories, chapters, &c. or secular, as bishoprics, deaneries, archdeaconries, &c. lay, as those of cities, towns, companies, or communities of commerce, &c.