Chapter 17 of Life of Johnson, Volume 1 1709-1765 is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Life of Johnson, Volume 1 1709-1765 is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
[97] Pope's Prologue to Addison's _Cato_, 1. 4. [98] 'Boswell is the first of biographers. He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them. Eclipse is first, and the rest nowhere.'
Chapter 17 of Life of Johnson, Volume 1 1709-1765 is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
plural of “biographer” — someone who writes an account of a person's life
From this reading “[98] 'Boswell is the first of biographers.”
Scottish author noted for his biography of Samuel Johnson (1740-1795)
From this reading “[98] 'Boswell is the first of biographers.”
plural of “competitor” — the contestant you hope to defeat
From this reading “He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.”
without question and beyond doubt
From this reading “He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.”
past form of “distance” — keep at a distance
From this reading “He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.”
be greater in significance than
From this reading “Eclipse is first, and the rest nowhere.'”
possessive form of “pope” — the head of the Roman Catholic Church
From this reading “[97] Pope's Prologue to Addison's _Cato_, 1.”
an introduction to a play
From this reading “[97] Pope's Prologue to Addison's _Cato_, 1.”
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 [97] Pope's Prologue to Addison's _Cato_, 1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [97] Pope's Prologue to Addison's _Cato_, 1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [98] 'Boswell is the first of biographers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [97] Pope's Prologue to Addison's _Cato_, 1.
(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 He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Eclipse is first, and the rest nowhere.'
plural of “biographer” — someone who writes an account of a person's life
From this reading [98] 'Boswell is the first of biographers.
Scottish author noted for his biography of Samuel Johnson (1740-1795)
From this reading [98] 'Boswell is the first of biographers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [97] Pope's Prologue to Addison's _Cato_, 1.
plural of “competitor” — the contestant you hope to defeat
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
without question and beyond doubt
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
past form of “distance” — keep at a distance
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
be greater in significance than
From this reading Eclipse is first, and the rest nowhere.'
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading [98] 'Boswell is the first of biographers.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading [98] 'Boswell is the first of biographers.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
an insignificant place
From this reading Eclipse is first, and the rest nowhere.'
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading [98] 'Boswell is the first of biographers.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
possessive form of “pope” — the head of the Roman Catholic Church
From this reading [97] Pope's Prologue to Addison's _Cato_, 1.
an introduction to a play
From this reading [97] Pope's Prologue to Addison's _Cato_, 1.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Eclipse is first, and the rest nowhere.'
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [98] 'Boswell is the first of biographers.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading [97] Pope's Prologue to Addison's _Cato_, 1.
during the time that
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them.
Chapter 17 of Life of Johnson, Volume 1 1709-1765 by James Boswell holds 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 17 holds 398 sentences of Life of Johnson, Volume 1 1709-1765, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Life of Johnson, Volume 1 1709-1765 by James Boswell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 17 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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Yes. All 14265 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8918 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8918, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2853 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Choose one of the 36 chapters of Life of Johnson, Volume 1 1709-1765 to begin.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Life of Johnson, Volume 1 1709-1765, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
