The Copybook

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

1105

By Guido Reni (1575-1642), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Joseph and Potiphar by Clay Lane

Joseph’s master finds his new servant indispensable, but unfortunately his wife finds him irresistible.

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1106

Yorck Project, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Joseph and Pharaoh by Clay Lane

Pharaoh’s butler suddenly remembers his promise to mention Joseph to his master.

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1107

© EmsiProduction, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Joseph and the Missing Money by Clay Lane

Joseph’s brothers are forced to travel to Egypt to buy corn, and the overseer of Pharaoh’s granaries recognises them at once.

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1108

By Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912), Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Joseph and Benjamin’s Cup by Clay Lane

Joseph thinks that little Benjamin may provide the leverage he needs to force Jacob to come to Egypt.

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1109

© Zairon, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

Joseph and the Land of Promise by Clay Lane

Jacob takes his whole family to join Joseph in Egypt, but God promises him that one day they will return to Canaan.

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1110

By Rosser1954 (Roger Griffith), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Dr Johnson and the Critic’s Ambush by James Boswell

A literary man tries to trick Samuel Johnson into an honest opinion, which was neither necessary nor very rewarding.

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Clay Lane The Copybook
About Clay Lane nicholas@claylane.uk

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

April 25 NS

April 12 OS

The Life-Giving Spring : An obscure officer in the Roman Army gains a dizzying promotion after performing a simple act of kindness.
The Gallipoli Landings : By 1915, the Allies were struggling to break through Germany’s Western Front, and so began looking for another line of attack.
The Avengers : John Buchan was moved by the way the nations of the British Empire volunteered for service in the Great War.
A Tax on Companionship : William Windham MP was appalled at the idea of levying a tax on man’s best friend.
Christ is Risen! : Felicia Skene recalls the Easter celebrations on one emotionally-charged night in Athens
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.
Red Eye : Reconstruct the speaker’s original words from these reports.
Responsible : Combine each group of ideas into a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
Opposites : Suggest words that seem opposite in meaning to the words in this list.
Three of a Kind : For each of these things, think of three different varieties of it.
The Son of God Goes Forth to War : A hymn in praise of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
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