The Copybook

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

Blog

Copybook

Think & Speak

Games

KJV Bible

1423

© 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.

Read

1424

© 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.

Read

1425

Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

‘Stand out of my Sunshine!’ by Plutarch

Alexander the Great dropped a hint to his sycophantic entourage.

Read

1426

© 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.

Read

1427

© 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.

Read

1428

By an anonymous Indian artist c. 1765-70, via the Victoria and Albert Museum and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Courage Under Fire by Thomas Babington Macaulay

Robert Clive turned seven hundred frightened recruits into crack troops by sheer force of personality.

Read

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

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 29 NS

May 16 OS

The Last Commandment : Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf imagines the farewell between Jesus and his Apostles, forty days after his resurrection.
The Fall of Constantinople : Hospitality and sympathy, but no help - the Byzantine Emperor learns a bitter lesson about western diplomacy.
The Royal Oak : In 1680, Samuel Pepys sat down with Charles II to record how, many years before, a bold double-bluff saved the King from Cromwell’s men.
Lost and Found : What would you in these difficult situations?
They Might Not Need Me : Read these lines of verse out aloud.
The Turn : Ben Jonson tells us how we should measure a life well lived.
Music Video : Julius Benedict, Piano Concerto in E flat: II. Andante,
The Character of George Washington : Thomas Jefferson recalls the virtues (and a few faults) of the first US President.
Amen to That : John Bright declared it was time stop fighting wars around the world for ‘British interests’.
Arena : Use these nouns in sentences of at least ten words in length.
Q & A :
Deep Harmony : In the midst of the US Civil War, a simple melody briefly brought the warring factions together.
Thirty Minutes : Describe half an hour in one of these places.
And is there Care in Heaven? : Sir Guyon lies in an enchanted swoon, but he is not without help.
Pirate : For each of these words, suggest others that seem to go with it, and use them to bring a scene to life.
Latest

Clay Lane Home

Search

Blog

The Copybook

Think and Speak

Comfortable Words

Word Games

Featured Authors

Featured Subjects

Search The Copybook

About Clay Lane

Close Menu