Chapter 13 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LONDON, December 19, O. S. 1749. DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life. You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
Chapter 13 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art is here in full — 401 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.
with competence; in a competent capable manner
From this reading “You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.”
tending to become more severe or wider in scope
From this reading “DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.”
plural of “character” — an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading “You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.”
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading “LONDON, December 19, O.”
headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”
From this reading “DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.”
be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading “You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.”
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading “DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.”
plural of “sort” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1749.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON, December 19, O.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
with competence; in a competent capable manner
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
tending to become more severe or wider in scope
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
a youthful male person
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
plural of “character” — an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
dearly loved
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading LONDON, December 19, O.
headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
every person
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
a family of languages of the Fulani of West Africa and used as a lingua franca in the sub-Saharan regions from Senegal to Chad; the best known of the West African languages
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading LONDON, December 19, O.
be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
used to form the superlative
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
absolutely essential
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading LONDON, December 19, O.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
people in general considered as a whole
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading S.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
plural of “sort” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
for that reason; as a result
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
in an exhaustive manner
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
the act of using
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
precisely as stated
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
which person or people
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
in the company of; together with
From this reading You will have to do with all sorts of characters; you should, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading DEAR BOY: The knowledge of mankind is a very use ful knowledge for everybody; a most necessary one for you, who are destined to an active, public life.
Chapter 13 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art by Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 13 holds 401 sentences of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art by Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 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.
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