Chapter 19 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men. _Gran._ What beast is it thou lookest for? 150 _Diog._ The beast my man Manes. _Psyllus._ Hee is a beast indeed that will serve thee. _Diog._ So is he that begat thee.
Chapter 19 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “_Gran._ What beast is it thou lookest for?”
any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading “_Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.”
inflected form of “beget” — make (offspring) by reproduction
From this reading “_Diog._ So is he that begat thee.”
the mother of your father or mother
a Persian prophet who founded Manichaeism (216-276)
From this reading “150 _Diog._ The beast my man Manes.”
serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading “_Psyllus._ Hee is a beast indeed that will serve thee.”
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading “_Psyllus._ Hee is a beast indeed that will serve thee.”
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading “_Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 150 _Diog._ The beast my man Manes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading _Psyllus._ Hee is a beast indeed that will serve thee.
(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 _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading _Gran._ What beast is it thou lookest for?
any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
inflected form of “beget” — make (offspring) by reproduction
From this reading _Diog._ So is he that begat thee.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading _Gran._ What beast is it thou lookest for?
set up or found
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _Diog._ So is he that begat thee.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Psyllus._ Hee is a beast indeed that will serve thee.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading _Psyllus._ Hee is a beast indeed that will serve thee.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading _Gran._ What beast is it thou lookest for?
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Gran._ What beast is it thou lookest for?
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading 150 _Diog._ The beast my man Manes.
a Persian prophet who founded Manichaeism (216-276)
From this reading 150 _Diog._ The beast my man Manes.
the force of workers available
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading 150 _Diog._ The beast my man Manes.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Psyllus._ Hee is a beast indeed that will serve thee.
serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading _Psyllus._ Hee is a beast indeed that will serve thee.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading _Diog._ So is he that begat thee.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 150 _Diog._ The beast my man Manes.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading _Psyllus._ Hee is a beast indeed that will serve thee.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading _Gran._ What beast is it thou lookest for?
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading _Gran._ What beast is it thou lookest for?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading _Psyllus._ Hee is a beast indeed that will serve thee.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading _Gran._ That is easie without thy light to bee found: be not all these men?[832] _Diog._ Called men.
Chapter 19 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare by Charles Mills [Editor] Gayley holds 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 19 holds 428 sentences of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare by Charles Mills [Editor] Gayley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 19 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 Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare by Charles Mills [Editor] Gayley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 15004 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49710 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49710, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3001 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare 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 Representative English Comedies, V. 1. From the Beginnings to Shakespeare, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
