Chapter 2 of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Jourd._ Oh! miserable Wretch. _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody. _Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence. _Old Lar._ Consequence! Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
Chapter 2 of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading “_Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence.”
possessive form of “heaven” — any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading “_Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence.”
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading “_Jourd._ Oh! miserable Wretch.”
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading “_Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.”
a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading “Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?”
showing reason or sound judgment
From this reading “_Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.”
undergo or be subjected to
From this reading “Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?”
performs some wicked deed
From this reading “_Jourd._ Oh! miserable Wretch.”
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 “_Jourd._ Oh! miserable Wretch.”
In this reading “_Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence.”
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 Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
(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 Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading _Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence.
deem to be
From this reading _Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading _Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence.
possessive form of “heaven” — any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading _Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Jourd._ Oh! miserable Wretch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
engage in
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading _Jourd._ Oh! miserable Wretch.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
not any; not one
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading _Jourd._ Oh! miserable Wretch.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
be shown or be found to be
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading _Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence.
showing reason or sound judgment
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
term of address for a man
From this reading _Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence.
a person, without saying who
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
undergo or be subjected to
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
make an effort or attempt
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading _Old Lar._ Agad I'll try whether I am no Body or no, and whether I cannot make this Priest sensible that I am somebody.
performs some wicked deed
From this reading _Jourd._ Oh! miserable Wretch.
a silvery metallic element that is common in rare-earth minerals; used in magnesium and aluminum alloys
From this reading _Y. Lar._ For Heaven's sake, Sir, consider the Consequence.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Do you think I'll suffer a Rascal to prove me nothing at all to my Face?
Chapter 2 of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy by Henry Fielding holds 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 445 sentences of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy by Henry Fielding exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Old Debauchees. A Comedy by Henry Fielding on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 894 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37923 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37923, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 74 minutes of reading across 179 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Debauchees. A Comedy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Old Debauchees. A Comedy 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 Old Debauchees. A Comedy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
