The text into which any early modern seventeenth-century writer would jot his or her thoughts into, his reading notes, was always called a commonplace book.

他的阅读笔记,那是许多早期的十七世纪现代作家都会深深思考的笔记，它常常被称为一本普通的书。

耶鲁公开课 - 弥尔顿课程节选