Chapter 28 of Voices from the Past is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of Voices from the Past is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes? Let be. Let be. Do we?
Chapter 28 of Voices from the Past is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 quantity of no importance
From this reading “If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?”
resist or confront with resistance
From this reading “...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.”
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading “If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?”
The protective care of God or nature as a spiritual power. (Sự quan phòng, thiên ý phù hộ.)
From this reading “...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.”
the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or action (especially military action)
From this reading “If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?”
any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
From this reading “...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.”
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading “...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.”
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading “If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?”
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 ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
(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 If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
a quantity of no importance
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
an event that is experienced as indicating important things to come
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
in good time
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
resist or confront with resistance
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do we?
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
go away from a place
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Let be.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
not any; not one
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
The protective care of God or nature as a spiritual power. (Sự quan phòng, thiên ý phù hộ.)
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or action (especially military action)
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
from a time in the past until now
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
in or at that place or location
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading ...We defy augury; there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
but in spite of that
From this reading If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come; the readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves what is it to leave betimes?
Chapter 28 of Voices from the Past by Paul Alexander Bartlett holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 28 holds 411 sentences of Voices from the Past, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of Voices from the Past by Paul Alexander Bartlett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 28 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 Voices from the Past by Paul Alexander Bartlett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11644 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39468 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39468, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2329 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Voices from the Past section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Voices from the Past 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 Voices from the Past, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
