Chapter 20 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art is here in full — 389 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art is here in full — 389 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LONDON, December 19, O. S. 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.] MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure. Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
Chapter 20 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art is here in full — 389 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]”
the specified day of the month
From this reading “1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]”
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading “LONDON, December 19, O.”
having come or been brought to a conclusion
From this reading “1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]”
third-person singular of “indicate” — be a signal for or a symptom of
From this reading “1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]”
of or relating to two people who are married to each other
From this reading “Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.”
a brief written record
From this reading “1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]”
a temporary stay (e.g., as a guest)
From this reading “1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]”
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 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
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 MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
the specified day of the month
From this reading 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
dearly loved
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading LONDON, December 19, O.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
having come or been brought to a conclusion
From this reading 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
third-person singular of “indicate” — be a signal for or a symptom of
From this reading 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
of or relating to two people who are married to each other
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
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.
engage in
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
a brief written record
From this reading 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
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 MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading S.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
a temporary stay (e.g., as a guest)
From this reading 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
the act of using
From this reading Use does a great deal, but care and attention must be joined to it.
in or at the place that
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
in the company of; together with
From this reading 1751--[Note the date, which indicates that the sojourn with the author has ended.]
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: You are now entered upon a scene of business, where I hope you will one day make a figure.
Chapter 20 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art by Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield holds 389 sentences, grouped into 78 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 20 holds 389 sentences of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 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 389 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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 20 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 Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art by Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10351 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3361 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3361, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2071 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art 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 Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
