Chapter 8 of Tales is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Tales is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TALE XIV. THE STRUGGLES OF CONSCIENCE. I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter. My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale. SHAKESPEARE, Richard III.
Chapter 8 of Tales is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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 “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading “My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.”
motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
From this reading “THE STRUGGLES OF CONSCIENCE.”
praise somewhat dishonestly
From this reading “I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.”
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading “SHAKESPEARE, Richard III.”
plural of “struggle” — an energetic attempt to achieve something
From this reading “THE STRUGGLES OF CONSCIENCE.”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “TALE XIV.”
plural of “tongue” — a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading “My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.”
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading “I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.
third-person singular of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.
motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
From this reading THE STRUGGLES OF CONSCIENCE.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.
praise somewhat dishonestly
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
an old form of “has”
From this reading My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading SHAKESPEARE, Richard III.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE STRUGGLES OF CONSCIENCE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SHAKESPEARE, Richard III.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading SHAKESPEARE, Richard III.
express in speech
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
plural of “struggle” — an energetic attempt to achieve something
From this reading THE STRUGGLES OF CONSCIENCE.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading TALE XIV.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE STRUGGLES OF CONSCIENCE.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.
plural of “tongue” — a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale.
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
(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 I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
the cardinal number that is the sum of thirteen and one
From this reading TALE XIV.
but in spite of that
From this reading I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not: Fool! of thyself speak well: --Fool! do not flatter.
Chapter 8 of Tales by George Crabbe holds 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 8 holds 176 sentences of Tales, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Tales by George Crabbe exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 8 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 Tales by George Crabbe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1908 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5217 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5217, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 159 minutes of reading across 382 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Tales 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 Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
