Chapter 30 of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
We grow. We acquire. Do we change? We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak. We talk of character—but do we not mean habit?
Chapter 30 of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “We acquire.”
third-person singular of “defy” — resist or confront with resistance
From this reading “We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.”
an arrangement of people or things acting as a unit
From this reading “We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.”
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading “We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.”
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading “We grow.”
an established custom
From this reading “We talk of character—but do we not mean habit?”
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.”
joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
From this reading “We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.”
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.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading We acquire.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading We talk of character—but do we not mean habit?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading Do we change?
an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
third-person singular of “defy” — resist or confront with resistance
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do we change?
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
an arrangement of people or things acting as a unit
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading We grow.
an established custom
From this reading We talk of character—but do we not mean habit?
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading We talk of character—but do we not mean habit?
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
express in speech
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We grow.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We talk of the formation of character, as if character were not already triumphant in the infant that defies its father and seduces its grandmother months before it can speak.
Chapter 30 of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth by Clemence Dane holds 216 sentences, grouped into 44 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 30 holds 216 sentences of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth by Clemence Dane exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 216 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 30 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 First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth by Clemence Dane on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7010 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63501 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63501, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 584 minutes of reading across 1402 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth 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 First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
