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Portia
Portia

Chapter XXIX · Chapter 29

Chapter 29 of Portia is here in full — 73 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

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Context Illustration Reading 1/14 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."
--DON JUAN.
"Death came with friendly care."
--COLERIDGE.
IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Portia

Chapter XXIX · Chapter 29

Chapter 29 of Portia is here in full — 73 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/14 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."
/huːm ðə ɡɑːdz lʌv daɪ jʌŋ wɑːz sed ʌv jɔːr/
Line 2
--DON JUAN.
Line 3
"Death came with friendly care."
/deθ keɪm wɪð ˈfrendli ker/
Line 4
--COLERIDGE.
/ˈkoʊlrɪdʒ/
Line 5
IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

Learner Dictionary

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.

bravely adverb US /ˈbreɪvli/

in a courageous manner

From this reading “IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--”

coleridge noun US /ˈkoʊlrɪdʒ/

English romantic poet (1772-1834)

From this reading “--COLERIDGE.”

gods noun US /ɡɑːdz/

plural of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

From this reading “"'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."”

heavier adjective US /ˈheviər/

comparative of “heavy” — of comparatively great physical weight or density

From this reading “IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--”

miseries noun US /ˈmɪzəriz/

plural of “misery” — a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune

From this reading “IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--”

storms noun US /stɔːrmz/

plural of “storm” — a violent weather condition with winds 64-72 knots (11 on the Beaufort scale) and precipitation and thunder and lightning

From this reading “IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--”

wreck noun US /rek/

something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation

From this reading “IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--”

yore noun US /jɔːr/

time long past

From this reading “"'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

of yore preposition + noun

In this reading “"'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."”

All words in this reading · 57

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.

againadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

agoadverbUS /əˈɡoʊ/

in the past

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

alreadyadverbUS /ɔːlˈredi/

prior to a specified or implied time

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

bravelyadverbUS /ˈbreɪvli/

in a courageous manner

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

cameverbUS /keɪm/

inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading "Death came with friendly care."

carenounUS /ker/

the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something

From this reading "Death came with friendly care."

cheerilyadverb

in a cheerful manner

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

COLERIDGEnounUS /ˈkoʊlrɪdʒ/

English romantic poet (1772-1834)

From this reading --COLERIDGE.

deadadjectiveUS /ded/

no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

DeathnounUS /deθ/

the event of dying or departure from life

From this reading "Death came with friendly care."

despoilverb

steal goods; take as spoils

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

dieverbUS /daɪ/

pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life

From this reading "'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."

DONnounUS /dɑːn/

a Spanish gentleman or nobleman

From this reading --DON JUAN.

earthnounUS /ɜːrθ/

the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

friendlyadjectiveUS /ˈfrendli/

characteristic of or befitting a friend

From this reading "Death came with friendly care."

gladnessnoun

experiencing joy and pleasure

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

godsnounUS /ɡɑːdz/

plural of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

From this reading "'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."

happenedverbUS /ˈhæpənd/

past form of “happen” — come to pass

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

heavieradjectiveUS /ˈheviər/

comparative of “heavy” — of comparatively great physical weight or density

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

how

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

ITpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

joynounUS /dʒɔɪ/

the emotion of great happiness

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

JUAN

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading --DON JUAN.

lifenounUS /laɪf/

a characteristic state or mode of living

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

lovenounUS /lʌv/

a strong positive emotion of regard and affection

From this reading "'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."

madeadjectiveUS /meɪd/

produced by a manufacturing process

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

miseriesnounUS /ˈmɪzəriz/

plural of “misery” — a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

nowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."

onlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/

and nothing more

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading "'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."

seemsverbUS /siːmz/

third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

shiningadjectiveUS /ˈʃaɪnɪŋ/

marked by exceptional merit

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

soulnounUS /soʊl/

the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

stormsnounUS /stɔːrmz/

plural of “storm” — a violent weather condition with winds 64-72 knots (11 on the Beaufort scale) and precipitation and thunder and lightning

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

sunnounUS /sʌn/

the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading "'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."

thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

unknownadjectiveUS /ənˈnoʊn/

not known

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

upadjectiveUS /ʌp/

being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading "'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."

WhompronounUS /huːm/

the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading "Death came with friendly care."

wrecknounUS /rek/

something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

yesterdaynounUS /ˈjestərdeɪ/

the day immediately before today

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading IT all happened only yesterday, yet how long ago it seems already; and now the sun is shining again, bravely, cheerily, as though life is all made up of joy and gladness, and as though storms that despoil the earth, and heavier storms that wreck the soul, are miseries unknown; and yet he is dead, and she--

yorenounUS /jɔːr/

time long past

From this reading "'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."

youngadjectiveUS /jʌŋ/

(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth

From this reading "'Whom the gods love die young,' was said of yore."

Chapter 29 of Portia by Duchess holds 73 sentences, grouped into 15 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.

What does chapter 29 of Portia contain?

Chapter 29 holds 73 sentences of Portia, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 29 of Portia by Duchess exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 73 sentences, grouped into 15 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.

How do I study chapter 29 of Portia?

Work through the 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 15 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.

Can chapter 29 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 29 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.

Questions about reading Portia

Common questions about reading Portia by Duchess on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Portia?

Yes. All 6566 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31825 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Portia is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #31825, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Portia take to read?

About 547 minutes of reading across 1314 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Portia section by section

How to work through Portia section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 29 chapters of Portia to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Portia

Words and structures a reader meets early in Portia, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Child
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Portia; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Grandmother
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Portia; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Female
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Portia; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Sweet
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Portia; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.