The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

1399

By James Tissot (1836-1902), from the Brooklyn Museum via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins from The Authorized Version

Five young women cared enough about a man’s wedding-day to make the smallest of sacrifices, and received the best of rewards.

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1400

© OneArmedMan, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

St George the Triumphant Martyr by Clay Lane

One of the Emperor Galerius’s most trusted generals openly defied him.

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1401

© Paul Dickson, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Sunday of Palms and Willows by Clay Lane

For centuries, northern countries from Russia to England have laid the catkins of the willow tree before Jesus as he enters Jerusalem.

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1402

Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

‘Stand out of my Sunshine!’ by Plutarch

Alexander the Great dropped a hint to his sycophantic entourage.

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1403

© H. Zell, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Hare and the Tortoise by Clay Lane

One had natural talent but no discipline, the other had discipline but no natural talent.

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1404

© Maurice Pullin, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

In Good Company by Jane Austen

Anne Elliot resents being expected to court the society of anyone simply because of social status.

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© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

April 29 NS

April 16 OS

A Literary Mystery : In 1798, ‘Plays on the Passions’ appeared in London bookstores, but no one seemed to know who had written them.
Smile : Choose adjectives of praise for these nouns, at about the 7/10 level.
The Making of Mark : St Mark wrote his Gospel as a summary of the preaching of St Peter.
Zheng He and the Rise of Malacca : Malacca became a refuge from the overbearing empires of the Far East, thanks to a celebrated Chinese admiral.
Confusables : Compose sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between these words.
Jill and I : Include yourself in these sentences about Jill.
Saddled : Use these words in sentences, and see if you can use one of them as a verb.
Russia’s Heroic Stand : In 1941, with much of the West subdued, Adolf Hitler bent the full force of his hatred on Moscow.
Approachable : Replace the verb ‘can’ with these alternatives, and explain how the meaning of the sentence has changed.
The First Easter : In a translation from the Authorized Version of the Bible, published in 1611, St Mark recounts the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb.
A Collect for Easter Day : A short prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, for the day of Christ’s resurrection.
The Gambler : Which well-known expression is Dr Johnson talking about here?
If I Had But Two Little Wings : Samuel Taylor Coleridge holds on to those precious moments when loneliness is a problem for tomorrow.
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