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The Puritans
The Puritans

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of The Puritans is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Puritans
Context Illustration Reading 1/79 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.
_All's Well That Ends Well_, iv.
3.
"Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."
_Persian Religious Hymn.
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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 Puritans

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of The Puritans is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/79 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.
/ðə web ʌv ˈaʊər laɪf ɪz ʌv ə ˈmɪŋɡəld jɑːrn ɡʊd ənd ɪl təˈɡeðər/
Line 2
_All's Well That Ends Well_, iv.
Line 3
3.
Line 4
"Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."
/əˈbændənɪŋ maɪ hɑːrt ənd ræpt ɪn ˈekstəsi aɪ ræn ˈæftər hɜːr tɪl aɪ keɪm tuː ə pleɪs ɪn wɪtʃ rɪˈlɪdʒən ənd ˈriːzən fɔːrˈsʊk miː/
Line 5
_Persian Religious Hymn.
/ˈpɜːrʒən rɪˈlɪdʒəs hɪm/

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.

Abandoning verb US /əˈbændənɪŋ/

-ing form of “abandon” — forsake, leave behind

From this reading “"Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."”

ecstasy noun US /ˈekstəsi/

a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion

From this reading “"Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."”

forsook verb US /fɔːrˈsʊk/

inflected form of “forsake” — leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch

From this reading “"Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."”

Hymn noun US /hɪm/

a song of praise (to God or to a saint or to a nation)

From this reading “_Persian Religious Hymn.”

Persian noun US /ˈpɜːrʒən/

a native or inhabitant of Iran

rapt adjective US /ræpt/

feeling great rapture or delight

From this reading “"Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."”

web noun US /web/

an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving

From this reading “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.”

yarn noun US /jɑːrn/

the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events

From this reading “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.”

All words in this reading · 41

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.

3

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

From this reading 3.

adeterminerUS /ə/

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

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

AbandoningverbUS /əˈbændənɪŋ/

-ing form of “abandon” — forsake, leave behind

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

All's

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

From this reading _All's Well That Ends Well_, iv.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

cameverbUS /keɪm/

inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

ecstasynounUS /ˈekstəsi/

a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

EndsnounUS /endz/

plural of “end” — either extremity of something that has length

From this reading _All's Well That Ends Well_, iv.

forsookverbUS /fɔːrˈsʊk/

inflected form of “forsake” — leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

goodadjectiveUS /ɡʊd/

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

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

HymnnounUS /hɪm/

a song of praise (to God or to a saint or to a nation)

From this reading _Persian Religious Hymn.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

illadjectiveUS /ɪl/

affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

ivnoun

the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one

From this reading _All's Well That Ends Well_, iv.

lifenounUS /laɪf/

a characteristic state or mode of living

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

mingledverbUS /ˈmɪŋɡəld/

past form of “mingle” — to bring or combine together or with something else

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

PersiannounUS /ˈpɜːrʒən/

a native or inhabitant of Iran

From this reading _Persian Religious Hymn.

placenounUS /pleɪs/

a point located with respect to surface features of some region

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

ranverbUS /ræn/

inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

raptadjectiveUS /ræpt/

feeling great rapture or delight

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

reasonnounUS /ˈriːzən/

a rational motive for a belief or action

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

religionnounUS /rɪˈlɪdʒən/

a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

ReligiousadjectiveUS /rɪˈlɪdʒəs/

concerned with sacred matters or religion or the church

From this reading _Persian Religious Hymn.

ThatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading _All's Well That Ends Well_, iv.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

tillprepositionUS /tɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

togetheradverbUS /təˈɡeðər/

in contact with each other or in proximity

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

webnounUS /web/

an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

WelladverbUS /wel/

(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)

From this reading _All's Well That Ends Well_, iv.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading "Abandoning my heart, and rapt in ecstasy, I ran after her till I came to a place in which religion and reason forsook me."

yarnnounUS /jɑːrn/

the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events

From this reading The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

Chapter 1 of The Puritans by Arlo Bates holds 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 1 of The Puritans contain?

Chapter 1 holds 397 sentences of The Puritans, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of The Puritans by Arlo Bates exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 1 of The Puritans?

Work through the 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 80 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 1 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 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 Puritans

Common questions about reading The Puritans by Arlo Bates on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Puritans?

Yes. All 6734 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8522 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Puritans is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #8522, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Puritans take to read?

About 561 minutes of reading across 1347 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Puritans section by section

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  1. Open a chapter

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Vocabulary met early in The Puritans

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Puritans, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Mingled
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Puritans; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Together
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Puritans; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
All's
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Puritans; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Abandoning
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Puritans; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.