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The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II
The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II

Chapter III · Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II is here in full — 385 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II
Context Illustration Reading 1/77 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.
All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.
How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!
Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!
May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II

Chapter III · Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II is here in full — 385 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/77 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.
Line 2
All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.
Line 3
How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!
Line 4
Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!
Line 5
May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

Learner Dictionary

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.

destined adjective US /ˈdestɪnd/

headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”

From this reading “All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.”

loathe verb US /loʊð/

find repugnant

From this reading “Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!”

oppressed adjective US /əˈprest/

burdened psychologically or mentally

From this reading “May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!”

oppression noun US /əˈpreʃən/

the act of subjugating by cruelty

From this reading “How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!”

peril noun US /ˈperəl/

a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune

From this reading “How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!”

prosper verb US /ˈprɑːspər/

make steady progress; be at the high point in one's career or reach a high point in historical significance or importance

From this reading “May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!”

shift verb US /ʃɪft/

make a shift in or exchange of

From this reading “The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.”

tides noun US /taɪdz/

plural of “tide” — the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon

From this reading “The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.”

All words in this reading · 67

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

abjectionnoun

a low or downcast state

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

addverbUS /æd/

make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

Ah

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!

AlladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

bearverbUS /ber/

have

From this reading How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!

belongverbUS /bɪˈlɔːŋ/

be owned by; be in the possession of

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!

crueladjectiveUS /ˈkruːəl/

(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

daysnounUS /deɪz/

the time during which someone's life continues

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

destinedadjectiveUS /ˈdestɪnd/

headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

distressnounUS /dɪˈstres/

psychological suffering

From this reading How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!

eachdeterminerUS /iːtʃ/

every one of two or more people or things, taken separately

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

endnounUS /end/

either extremity of something that has length

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

endureth

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

estatenounUS /ɪˈsteɪt/

everything you own; all of your assets (whether real property or personal property) and liabilities

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

everadverbUS /ˈevər/

at any time

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

evermo

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

fatenounUS /feɪt/

an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

fro

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

GodnounUS /ɡɑːd/

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 May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

goodadjectiveUS /ɡʊd/

having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

How

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!

illadjectiveUS /ɪl/

affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

lifenounUS /laɪf/

a characteristic state or mode of living

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

loatheverbUS /loʊð/

find repugnant

From this reading Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!

longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified

From this reading How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!

maymodal verbUS /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

mennounUS /men/

the force of workers available

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

minepronounUS /maɪn/

the one or ones belonging to the person speaking

From this reading Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

nonepronounUS /nʌn/

not one, and not any

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

noughtnoun

a mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number

From this reading Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

oppressedadjectiveUS /əˈprest/

burdened psychologically or mentally

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

oppressionnounUS /əˈpreʃən/

the act of subjugating by cruelty

From this reading How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!

overgo

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

perilnounUS /ˈperəl/

a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune

From this reading How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress!

prosperverbUS /ˈprɑːspər/

make steady progress; be at the high point in one's career or reach a high point in historical significance or importance

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

setverbUS /set/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

shiftverbUS /ʃɪft/

make a shift in or exchange of

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

showverbUS /ʃoʊ/

give an exhibition of to an interested audience

From this reading Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!

termnounUS /tɜːrm/

a word or expression used for some particular thing

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

thesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!

thingsnounUS /θɪŋz/

any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!

tidesnounUS /taɪdz/

plural of “tide” — the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

twixt

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The tides of fate 'twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo'.

wherein

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

woenounUS /woʊ/

misery resulting from affliction

From this reading May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!

worldnounUS /wɜːrld/

everything that exists anywhere

From this reading All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.

Chapter 3 of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II by John [Translator] Payne holds 385 sentences, grouped into 77 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.

What does chapter 3 of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II contain?

Chapter 3 holds 385 sentences of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 3 of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II by John [Translator] Payne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 385 sentences, grouped into 77 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.

How do I study chapter 3 of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II?

Work through the 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 77 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.

Can chapter 3 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II

Common questions about reading The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II by John [Translator] Payne on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II?

Yes. All 4798 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8656 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #8656, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II take to read?

About 399 minutes of reading across 960 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II section by section

How to work through The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

First
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Completely
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
English
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Prose
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.