FOR by it, besides the sparing of our British blood, heretofore and during the difference so often and abundantly shed, the state of England is more assured, the kingdom more enabled to recover her ancient honour and rights, and by it made more invincible than by all our former alliances, practices, policies, and conquests. It is true that hereof we do not yet find the effect; but had the Duke of Parma,* in the year 1588, joined the army which he commanded with that of Spain, and landed it on the south coast, and had his majesty at the same time declared himself against us in the north,* it is easy to divine what had become of the liberty of England, certainly we would then, without murmur, have bought this union at a far greater price than it hath since cost us.
* Alexander Farnese (1545-1592), Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro (1586-1592) and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (1578-1592). The Duke, an outstanding general with a vast army, wanted to invade England from the Netherlands (where Elizabeth was supporting rebels protesting against the Inquisition) but King Philip II of Spain ordered him to wait for his ‘Invincible Armada’. In the event, the Armada was defeated and the Duke’s army never crossed the Channel. See The Spanish Armada.
* James VI of Scotland came to the throne in 1567 at the age of one, when his mother Mary Queen of Scots was deposed by her nobles; Mary was executed in 1587 while seeking (and frankly abusing) the protection of her cousin Elizabeth I. Raleigh is imagining what would have happened if James VI of Scotland had backed Spain in 1588, when the Spanish Armada came, and what price would have had to be paid to buy the Scots off. Among Sir Walter’s ‘molehill’ of grievances was that James was now altogether too friendly with the Spanish, whereas Elizabeth had quite deliberately employed Raleigh and Drake to harass Spanish shipping. After his release from gaol in 1616, Raleigh led an expedition to Guiana where he clashed repeatedly with the Spanish. On his return, James had him executed. See posts tagged Sir Walter Raleigh (6).
Précis
Sir Walter admitted that the benefits may not be obvious so soon, but he invited his readers to imagine what would have happened had James supported the Spanish Armada in 1588. Now that the two countries had one king, he argued, neither need fear that artful European powers would turn them against each other again. (55 / 60 words)
Sir Walter admitted that the benefits may not be obvious so soon, but he invited his readers to imagine what would have happened had James supported the Spanish Armada in 1588. Now that the two countries had one king, he argued, neither need fear that artful European powers would turn them against each other again.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, besides, if, otherwise, ought, since, unless, until.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Assured. God. Mountain.
2 Blood. Himself. Which.
3 So. Thank. Together.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Statements, Questions and Commands Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in a sentence. Try to include at least one statement, one question and one command among your sentences. Note that some verbs make awkward or meaningless words of command, e.g. need, happen.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Thank. 2 Forget. 3 Coast. 4 Land. 5 Assure. 6 Practise. 7 Continue. 8 Bring. 9 Make.
Variations: 1. use a minimum of seven words for each sentence 2. include negatives, e.g. isn’t, don’t, never 3. use the words ‘must’ to make commands 4. compose a short dialogue containing all three kinds of sentence: one statement, one question and one command
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Recover. 2. Historian. 3. Make. 4. Command. 5. Great. 6. Peace. 7. God. 8. Honour. 9. Gold.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
wrng (5)
wearing. wiring. wring. wrong. wrung.
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