Chapter 3 of Caesar and Cleopatra is here in full — 260 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Caesar and Cleopatra is here in full — 260 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FTATATEETA. You are my nursling. You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good. (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR. Now, if you quail--!
Chapter 3 of Caesar and Cleopatra is here in full — 260 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/52 · 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.
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading “(_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.”
next to; at the side of
From this reading “(_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.”
conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC)
From this reading “(_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.”
beautiful and charismatic queen of Egypt; mistress of Julius Caesar and later of Mark Antony; killed herself to avoid capture by Octavian (69-30 BC)
From this reading “(_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.”
draw back, as with fear or pain
From this reading “Now, if you quail--!”
possessive form of “queen” — the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading “You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.”
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading “(_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.”
the chair of state for a monarch, bishop, etc.
From this reading “(_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.”
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.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You are my nursling.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
next to; at the side of
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC)
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
beautiful and charismatic queen of Egypt; mistress of Julius Caesar and later of Mark Antony; killed herself to avoid capture by Octavian (69-30 BC)
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FTATATEETA.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
engage in
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You are my nursling.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, if you quail--!
an infant considered in relation to its nurse
From this reading You are my nursling.
draw back, as with fear or pain
From this reading Now, if you quail--!
possessive form of “queen” — the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
the chair of state for a monarch, bishop, etc.
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
which person or people
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
in the company of; together with
From this reading (_She hands Cleopatra to Caesar, who takes her back, almost beside herself with apprehension, to the throne._) CAESAR.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading You have said "So be it"; and if you die for it, you must make the Queen's word good.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You are my nursling.
Chapter 3 of Caesar and Cleopatra by Bernard Shaw holds 260 sentences, grouped into 52 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 3 holds 260 sentences of Caesar and Cleopatra, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Caesar and Cleopatra by Bernard Shaw exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 260 sentences, grouped into 52 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 52 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 52 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 3 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.
Common questions about reading Caesar and Cleopatra by Bernard Shaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1315 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3329 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3329, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 109 minutes of reading across 263 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Caesar and Cleopatra section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Caesar and Cleopatra to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Caesar and Cleopatra, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
