Chapter 8 of Cynthia's Revels is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Cynthia's Revels is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AMO. Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar? Now, sure the monsieur wants language-- HED. And take upon him to be one of the accomplished! 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
Chapter 8 of Cynthia's Revels is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
highly skilled
From this reading “And take upon him to be one of the accomplished!”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"”
negation of a word or group of words
From this reading “'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"”
something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows
From this reading “Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?”
A specialist in a particular branch of study; a distinguished student.
From this reading “Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?”
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading “'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"”
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading “Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?”
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading “Now, sure the monsieur wants language-- HED.”
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 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
highly skilled
From this reading And take upon him to be one of the accomplished!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AMO.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And take upon him to be one of the accomplished!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading And take upon him to be one of the accomplished!
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now, sure the monsieur wants language-- HED.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And take upon him to be one of the accomplished!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols
From this reading Now, sure the monsieur wants language-- HED.
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
negation of a word or group of words
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, sure the monsieur wants language-- HED.
the state of nonexistence
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading And take upon him to be one of the accomplished!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
A specialist in a particular branch of study; a distinguished student.
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading Now, sure the monsieur wants language-- HED.
carry out
From this reading And take upon him to be one of the accomplished!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now, sure the monsieur wants language-- HED.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
a formal word for “on”
From this reading And take upon him to be one of the accomplished!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading Now, sure the monsieur wants language-- HED.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading 'Slight, that's a good jest; would we could take him with that nullity.-- "Non sapete voi parlar' Italiano?"
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Is it your suit, monsieur, to see some prelude of my scholar?
Chapter 8 of Cynthia's Revels by Ben Jonson holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 8 holds 404 sentences of Cynthia's Revels, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Cynthia's Revels by Ben Jonson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 8 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 Cynthia's Revels by Ben Jonson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3982 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3771 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3771, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 331 minutes of reading across 797 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cynthia's Revels section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Cynthia's Revels 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 Cynthia's Revels, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
