The Copybook

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

1393

© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Practice Makes Perfect by Jane Austen

Making friends is, like playing music, not just a matter of natural talent.

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1394

© Jim Barton, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Small Compass by Jeremy Bentham

The role of government in a nation’s prosperity is important but limited.

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1395

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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1396

© 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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1397

© 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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1398

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

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

April 23 NS

April 10 OS

A Tale of a Garter : Following the Battle of Crécy in 1346, Edward III instituted an order of chivalry in honour of St George, inspired (some said) by something he picked up in the street.
The Day of Resurrection : An eighth-century hymn of the Greek Church, for Easter Day
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.
Peace Plan : Report this brief exchange between Anna and M. Pierre and Tolstoy’s War and Peace
Metaphors : Choose one of these words and use it metaphorically, not literally.
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