Chapter 15 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 05 is here in full — 345 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 05 is here in full — 345 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SOLIMAN. Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content? ERASTUS. Ay, if my sov'reign say content, I yield. SOLIMAN.
Chapter 15 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 05 is here in full — 345 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/69 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a desirable state
From this reading “Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?”
declare untrue; contradict
From this reading “Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?”
a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another
From this reading “Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?”
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?”
plural of “prick” — insulting terms of address for people who are stupid or irritating or ridiculous
From this reading “Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?”
express the need or desire for
From this reading “Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?”
morally excellent
From this reading “Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?”
be the cause or source of
From this reading “Ay, if my sov'reign say content, I yield.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ay, if my sov'reign say content, I yield.
a desirable state
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
declare untrue; contradict
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Ay, if my sov'reign say content, I yield.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Ay, if my sov'reign say content, I yield.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Ay, if my sov'reign say content, I yield.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
past form of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
plural of “prick” — insulting terms of address for people who are stupid or irritating or ridiculous
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
express the need or desire for
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
express in words
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SOLIMAN.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ay, if my sov'reign say content, I yield.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
make an effort or attempt
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
the qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle)
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
morally excellent
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
in the company of; together with
From this reading Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request; A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour: say, art thou content?
be the cause or source of
From this reading Ay, if my sov'reign say content, I yield.
Chapter 15 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 05 by Robert [Editor] Dodsley holds 345 sentences, grouped into 69 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 15 holds 345 sentences of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 05, unabridged, divided into 69 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 05 by Robert [Editor] Dodsley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 345 sentences, grouped into 69 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 69 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 69 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 15 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
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About 501 minutes of reading across 1203 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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