Chapter 3 of The Cynic's Word Book is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Cynic's Word Book is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DUTY, n. That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire. Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port. His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead. G. J.
Chapter 3 of The Cynic's Word Book is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
promote over another
From this reading “Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.”
possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading “His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.”
of a pale purple color
From this reading “Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.”
a place (seaport or airport) where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country
From this reading “Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.”
past form of “prevail” — be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
From this reading “His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.”
the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses)
From this reading “That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.”
incited, especially deliberately, to anger
From this reading “His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.”
with sternness; in a severe manner
From this reading “That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.”
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.
In this reading “That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.”
In this reading “That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.”
In this reading “Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.”
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.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading DUTY, n.
promote over another
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram
From this reading G. J.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
in place of, or as an alternative to
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
From this reading G. J.
possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
of a pale purple color
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading DUTY, n.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
a place (seaport or airport) where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
past form of “prevail” — be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses)
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
incited, especially deliberately, to anger
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
term of address for a man
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
with sternness; in a severe manner
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
carry out
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading His anger provoked him to take the king's head, But duty prevailed, and he took the king's bread, Instead.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
which person or people
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
vehemently incensed and condemnatory
From this reading Sir Lavender Portwine, in favor at court, Was wroth at his master, who 'd kissed Lady Port.
Chapter 3 of The Cynic's Word Book by Ambrose Bierce holds 439 sentences, grouped into 88 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 3 holds 439 sentences of The Cynic's Word Book, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Cynic's Word Book by Ambrose Bierce exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 439 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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.
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About 183 minutes of reading across 441 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Cynic's Word Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
