The distinction between a common and a proper noun, is very obvious. For
example: _boy_ is a common noun, because it is a name applied to _all_
boys; but _Charles_ is a proper noun, because it is the name of an
_individual_ boy. Although many boys may have the same name, yet you
know it is not a common noun, for the name Charles is _not_ given to all
boys. _Mississippi_ is a proper noun, because it is the name of an
individual river; but _river_ is a common noun, because it is the name
of a _species_ of things, and the name _river_ is common to _all_
rivers.
Nouns which denote the genus, species, or variety of beings or things,
are always common; as, _tree_, the genus; _oak, ash, chestnut, poplar_,
different species; and red _oak_, white _oak_, black _oak_, varieties.
The word earth, when it signifies a kind or quantity of dirt, is a
common noun; but when it denotes the planet we inhabit, it is a proper
noun. The _words_ person, place, river, mountain, lake, &c. are _common
nouns_, because they are the names of whole _species_, or classes of
things containing many sorts; but the _names_ of persons, places,
rivers, mountains, lakes, &c.
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