Chapter 21 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LONDON, March 2, O. S. 1752. MY DEAR FRIEND: Whereabouts are you in Ariosto? Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
Chapter 21 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/73 · 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.
third-person singular of “announce” — make known; make an announcement
From this reading “Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:”
unrestrained, especially with regard to feelings
From this reading “Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:”
Clever, original, and remarkably inventive in design and execution.
From this reading “Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:”
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
From this reading “Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:”
plural of “magician” — someone who performs magic tricks to amuse an audience
From this reading “Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:”
a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading “Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:”
of many different kinds purposefully arranged but lacking any uniformity
From this reading “Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:”
the general location where something is
From this reading “MY DEAR FRIEND: Whereabouts are you in Ariosto?”
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 1752.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON, March 2, O.
(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 Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
third-person singular of “announce” — make known; make an announcement
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: Whereabouts are you in Ariosto?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: Whereabouts are you in Ariosto?
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
dearly loved
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: Whereabouts are you in Ariosto?
unrestrained, especially with regard to feelings
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: Whereabouts are you in Ariosto?
destroyed or killed
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: Whereabouts are you in Ariosto?
Clever, original, and remarkably inventive in design and execution.
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading LONDON, March 2, O.
plural of “magician” — someone who performs magic tricks to amuse an audience
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
march in a procession
From this reading LONDON, March 2, O.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
used to form the superlative
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: Whereabouts are you in Ariosto?
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, March 2, O.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading S.
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
a fact that has been verified
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
of many different kinds purposefully arranged but lacking any uniformity
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
the general location where something is
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: Whereabouts are you in Ariosto?
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Or have you gone through that most ingenious contexture of truth and lies, of serious and extravagant, of knights-errant, magicians, and all that various matter which he announces in the beginning of his poem:
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading MY DEAR FRIEND: Whereabouts are you in Ariosto?
Chapter 21 of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art by Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield holds 366 sentences, grouped into 74 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 21 holds 366 sentences of Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art, unabridged, divided into 74 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 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 366 sentences, grouped into 74 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 74 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 74 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 21 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.
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About 600 minutes of reading across 2071 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in Letters to His Son, Complete On the Fine Art, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
