Chapter 2 of The Two Lovers of Heaven is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Two Lovers of Heaven is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CYNTHIA (advancing). What a charming air! To me What an honour! From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips. NISIDA.
Chapter 2 of The Two Lovers of Heaven is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
moving forward
From this reading “CYNTHIA (advancing).”
(Greek mythology) the virgin goddess of the hunt and the Moon; daughter of Leto and twin sister of Apollo; identified with Roman Diana
From this reading “CYNTHIA (advancing).”
although something is true; in spite of
From this reading “From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.”
amounting to a large indefinite number
From this reading “From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.”
an assumption that is taken for granted
From this reading “From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.”
sturdy and strong in constitution or construction; enduring
From this reading “From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.”
plural of “slip” — a socially awkward or tactless act
From this reading “From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.”
plural of “verse” — literature in metrical form
From this reading “From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.”
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 What a charming air!
moving forward
From this reading CYNTHIA (advancing).
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading What a charming air!
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading To me What an honour!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
pleasing or delighting
From this reading What a charming air!
(Greek mythology) the virgin goddess of the hunt and the Moon; daughter of Leto and twin sister of Apollo; identified with Roman Diana
From this reading CYNTHIA (advancing).
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
although something is true; in spite of
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
the state of being honored
From this reading To me What an honour!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading To me What an honour!
an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NISIDA.
amounting to a large indefinite number
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
an assumption that is taken for granted
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
sturdy and strong in constitution or construction; enduring
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
plural of “slip” — a socially awkward or tactless act
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To me What an honour!
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
plural of “verse” — literature in metrical form
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
(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 From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What a charming air!
which person or people
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
the words that are spoken
From this reading From this day I may well be vain, as they May without presumption be, Who, despite their numerous slips, Find their words can please the ear, Who their rugged verses hear Turn to music on thy lips.
Chapter 2 of The Two Lovers of Heaven by Pedro Calderón de la Barca holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 403 sentences of The Two Lovers of Heaven, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Two Lovers of Heaven by Pedro Calderón de la Barca exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Two Lovers of Heaven by Pedro Calderón de la Barca on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2455 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12173 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12173, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 204 minutes of reading across 491 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Two Lovers of Heaven section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Two Lovers of Heaven 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 Two Lovers of Heaven, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
