Chapter 3 of Epicoene is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Epicoene is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend. DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater. TRUE: Wherein, for Gods-sake? Gentlemen, come to yourselves again. DAUP: But I presaged thus much afore to you.
Chapter 3 of Epicoene is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/76 · 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.
impose something unpleasant
From this reading “DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.”
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading “DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.”
having the nature of or resulting from malice
From this reading “DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.”
past form of “presage” — indicate, as with a sign or an omen
From this reading “DAUP: But I presaged thus much afore to you.”
any red eruption of the skin
From this reading “CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.”
produced or marked by conscious design or premeditation
From this reading “DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.”
wanting in physical strength
From this reading “CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.”
used when the people spoken to are both doing and receiving the action
From this reading “Gentlemen, come to yourselves again.”
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 DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DAUP: But I presaged thus much afore to you.
anew
From this reading Gentlemen, come to yourselves again.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading DAUP: But I presaged thus much afore to you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Gentlemen, come to yourselves again.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
an opposing military force
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
at any time
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading TRUE: Wherein, for Gods-sake?
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading Gentlemen, come to yourselves again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TRUE: Wherein, for Gods-sake?
greater in size or importance or degree
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
lacking regard for the rights or feelings of others
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
impose something unpleasant
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
having the nature of or resulting from malice
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
used to form the superlative
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading DAUP: But I presaged thus much afore to you.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
past form of “presage” — indicate, as with a sign or an omen
From this reading DAUP: But I presaged thus much afore to you.
any red eruption of the skin
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
produced or marked by conscious design or premeditation
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
a special situation
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading DAUP: But I presaged thus much afore to you.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading TRUE: Wherein, for Gods-sake?
a formal word for “on”
From this reading DAUP: Friend! if the most malicious enemy I have, had studied to inflict an injury upon me, it could not be a greater.
wanting in physical strength
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TRUE: Wherein, for Gods-sake?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading CLER: 'Slight, you have done the most inconsiderate, rash, weak thing, that ever man did to his friend.
used when the people spoken to are both doing and receiving the action
From this reading Gentlemen, come to yourselves again.
Chapter 3 of Epicoene by Ben Jonson holds 383 sentences, grouped into 77 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 383 sentences of Epicoene, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Epicoene by Ben Jonson exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 383 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 Epicoene by Ben Jonson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2703 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4011 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4011, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 225 minutes of reading across 541 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Epicoene section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Epicoene 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 Epicoene, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
