Chapter 4 of Verse and Worse is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Verse and Worse is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_PERVERTED PROVERBS_ I 'VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD' Virtue its own reward? Alas! And what a poor one, as a rule! Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school. (No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)
Chapter 4 of Verse and Worse is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading “Alas!”
(used of sexual behavior) showing or appealing to bizarre or deviant tastes
the possibility of future success
From this reading “(No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)”
an Old Testament book consisting of proverbs from various Israeli sages (including Solomon)
a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing
From this reading “_PERVERTED PROVERBS_ I 'VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD' Virtue its own reward?”
a word or expression used for some particular thing
From this reading “Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.”
Moral excellence and goodness of character; the highest human attainment in Stoic philosophy.
From this reading “_PERVERTED PROVERBS_ I 'VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD' Virtue its own reward?”
morally excellent
From this reading “Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.”
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.
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 And what a poor one, as a rule!
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading Alas!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And what a poor one, as a rule!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading And what a poor one, as a rule!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading (No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading (No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _PERVERTED PROVERBS_ I 'VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD' Virtue its own reward?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _PERVERTED PROVERBS_ I 'VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD' Virtue its own reward?
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading _PERVERTED PROVERBS_ I 'VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD' Virtue its own reward?
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.
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 Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading (No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading (No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)
not any; not one
From this reading (No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading And what a poor one, as a rule!
have ownership or possession of
From this reading _PERVERTED PROVERBS_ I 'VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD' Virtue its own reward?
go across or through
From this reading Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.
(used of sexual behavior) showing or appealing to bizarre or deviant tastes
From this reading _PERVERTED PROVERBS_ I 'VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD' Virtue its own reward?
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading And what a poor one, as a rule!
the possibility of future success
From this reading (No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)
an Old Testament book consisting of proverbs from various Israeli sages (including Solomon)
From this reading _PERVERTED PROVERBS_ I 'VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD' Virtue its own reward?
a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing
From this reading _PERVERTED PROVERBS_ I 'VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD' Virtue its own reward?
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading And what a poor one, as a rule!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.
a word or expression used for some particular thing
From this reading Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading (No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading (No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading (No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading (No prospect, truly, could one find More unalluring to the mind.)
Moral excellence and goodness of character; the highest human attainment in Stoic philosophy.
From this reading _PERVERTED PROVERBS_ I 'VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD' Virtue its own reward?
morally excellent
From this reading Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading And what a poor one, as a rule!
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Be Virtuous, and Life will pass Like one long term of Sunday-school.
Chapter 4 of Verse and Worse by Harry Graham holds 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 4 holds 134 sentences of Verse and Worse, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Verse and Worse by Harry Graham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 4 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 Verse and Worse by Harry Graham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1064 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36702 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36702, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 88 minutes of reading across 213 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Verse and Worse section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Verse and Worse 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 Verse and Worse, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
