Chapter 3 of The Beggar's Opera is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Beggar's Opera is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Jemmy_. But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more. Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind? What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest. _Crook_.
Chapter 3 of The Beggar's Opera is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
possessing life
From this reading “But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.”
the act of conquering
From this reading “What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.”
someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive
From this reading “Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?”
the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit
From this reading “Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?”
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading “Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?”
the one or ones belonging to us
From this reading “But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.”
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious
From this reading “What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.”
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.
possessing life
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
weapons considered collectively
From this reading What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.
the act of conquering
From this reading What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.
someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
From this reading _Crook_.
deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.
an old form of “has”
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
a short crowbar
From this reading _Jemmy_.
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.
the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
not any; not one
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.
the one or ones belonging to us
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
precisely, exactly
From this reading What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading But the present Time is ours, and no body alive hath more.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why are the Laws levell’d at us? are we more dishonest than the rest of Mankind?
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious
From this reading What we win, Gentlemen, is our own by the Law of Arms, and the Right of Conquest.
Chapter 3 of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay holds 280 sentences, grouped into 56 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 3 holds 280 sentences of The Beggar's Opera, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 280 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 3 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 Beggar's Opera by John Gay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1403 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2421 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2421, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 116 minutes of reading across 281 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Beggar's Opera section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Beggar's Opera 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 Beggar's Opera, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
