Chapter 2 of The Babees' Book is here in full — 473 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Babees' Book is here in full — 473 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.” “Is thy governance good[118]?” I said. “My son, tell me if thou wilt.” “I would I were out of this world,” said he; “I reck not how soon when!”
Chapter 2 of The Babees' Book is here in full — 473 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/94 · 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.
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading “──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.””
the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something
From this reading ““Is thy governance good[118]?””
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading “──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.””
held dear
From this reading “──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.””
serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading “──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.””
past form of “serve” — serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading “──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.””
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading ““Is thy governance good[118]?””
an old form of “will”, used with “thou”
From this reading ““My son, tell me if thou wilt.””
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.
a teenager or a young adult male
In this reading “──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.””
In this reading “──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.””
In this reading “──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.””
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 “Is thy governance good[118]?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
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 ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “Is thy governance good[118]?”
the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something
From this reading “Is thy governance good[118]?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I would I were out of this world,” said he; “I reck not how soon when!”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “My son, tell me if thou wilt.”
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is thy governance good[118]?”
held dear
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “My son, tell me if thou wilt.”
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
not any; not one
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “I would I were out of this world,” said he; “I reck not how soon when!”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “I would I were out of this world,” said he; “I reck not how soon when!”
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “I would I were out of this world,” said he; “I reck not how soon when!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I would I were out of this world,” said he; “I reck not how soon when!”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
past form of “serve” — serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
term of address for a man
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
a male human offspring
From this reading “My son, tell me if thou wilt.”
in the near future
From this reading “I would I were out of this world,” said he; “I reck not how soon when!”
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
express in words
From this reading “My son, tell me if thou wilt.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “I would I were out of this world,” said he; “I reck not how soon when!”
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading “My son, tell me if thou wilt.”
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading “Is thy governance good[118]?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “I would I were out of this world,” said he; “I reck not how soon when!”
at the time that
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
an old form of “will”, used with “thou”
From this reading “My son, tell me if thou wilt.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading “I would I were out of this world,” said he; “I reck not how soon when!”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “I would I were out of this world,” said he; “I reck not how soon when!”
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading ──────────────── Thereupon the young man was glad and loved to talk with me; but when I inquired whom he served, he said: “God help me, sir, I serve myself and else no other man.”
Chapter 2 of The Babees' Book by Frederick James [Compiler] Furnivall holds 473 sentences, grouped into 95 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 473 sentences of The Babees' Book, unabridged, divided into 95 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Babees' Book by Frederick James [Compiler] Furnivall exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 473 sentences, grouped into 95 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 95 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 95 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 The Babees' Book by Frederick James [Compiler] Furnivall on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2014 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58985 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58985, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 167 minutes of reading across 403 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Babees' Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Babees' Book 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 The Babees' Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
