Chapter 2 of Prejudices, Third Series is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Prejudices, Third Series is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
But feeling better for the laugh. _Ridi si sapis_, said Martial. Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness. Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication. Here the buffoonery never stops.
Chapter 2 of Prejudices, Third Series is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading “Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.”
a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe
From this reading “Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.”
a republic in central Europe; split into East Germany and West Germany after World War II and reunited in 1990
From this reading “Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.”
(of persons) befitting a warrior
From this reading “_Ridi si sapis_, said Martial.”
the philosophical study of being and knowing
From this reading “Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.”
great merriment
From this reading “Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.”
a gambling card game in which chips are placed on the ace and king and queen and jack of separate suits (taken from a separate deck)
From this reading “Here the buffoonery never stops.”
accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment
From this reading “Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.”
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.
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.
(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 Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading But feeling better for the laugh.
acting like a clown or buffoon
From this reading Here the buffoonery never stops.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But feeling better for the laugh.
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading But feeling better for the laugh.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading But feeling better for the laugh.
voluntary sexual intercourse between persons not married to each other
From this reading Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.
a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe
From this reading Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.
a republic in central Europe; split into East Germany and West Germany after World War II and reunited in 1990
From this reading Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.
state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
From this reading Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.
the sound of laughing
From this reading But feeling better for the laugh.
(of persons) befitting a warrior
From this reading _Ridi si sapis_, said Martial.
the philosophical study of being and knowing
From this reading Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.
great merriment
From this reading Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.
absolutely essential
From this reading Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Here the buffoonery never stops.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Ridi si sapis_, said Martial.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading _Ridi si sapis_, said Martial.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Ridi si sapis_, said Martial.
a tetravalent nonmetallic element; next to oxygen it is the most abundant element in the earth's crust; occurs in clay and feldspar and granite and quartz and sand; used as a semiconductor in transistors
From this reading _Ridi si sapis_, said Martial.
a gambling card game in which chips are placed on the ace and king and queen and jack of separate suits (taken from a separate deck)
From this reading Here the buffoonery never stops.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But feeling better for the laugh.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, here is the land of mirth, as Germany is the land of metaphysics and France is the land of fornication.
accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment
From this reading Mirth is necessary to wisdom, to comfort, above all, to happiness.
Chapter 2 of Prejudices, Third Series by H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 2 holds 421 sentences of Prejudices, Third Series, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Prejudices, Third Series by H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 2 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 Prejudices, Third Series by H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2913 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53474 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53474, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 242 minutes of reading across 583 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Prejudices, Third Series section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Prejudices, Third Series 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 Prejudices, Third Series, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
