The Copybook

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

Blog

Copybook

Think & Speak

Games

KJV Bible

19

By Roland Vivian Pitchforth (1895-1982), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

The Marks of a Tyrant by Aristotle

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle explains what it is that defines a tyranny.

Read

20

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

In This Sign Conquer by Eusebius of Caesarea

Eusebius remembers the banner that Emperor Constantine carried into battle on the day he won his crown.

Read

21

By Henry Bellagnome, Wikimedia COmmons. CC BY-SA 2.0 generic.

Time Is by Henry van Dyke

Henry van Dyke wrote this for the sundial at Katrina Trask’s community retreat at Yaddo, New York.

Read

22

By Johannes Moreelse (?1602-1634), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Keep It Short by Plutarch

Plutarch argues that it when it comes to strong speech, less is always more.

Read

23

© Tim Felce, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Go to the Ant from The Authorized Version

Solomon recommends taking lessons from one of God’s smallest but most hard-working creatures.

Read

24

By Clément Ader, photo © Roby, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Chariots of Steam by Erasmus Darwin

Erasmus Darwin imagines how steam power will change the world.

Read

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

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 16 NS

May 3 OS

St John of Konitsa : Hassan slipped across to Ithaca because it was in British hands and the Turkish authorities on the Greek mainland must not know what he was going to do.
Hidden Message : Reveal the hidden message in a letter, and write a coded letter of your own.
The Great and the Good : Daniel Defoe wondered whether goodness was not preferable to greatness.
Statements, Questions and Commands : Choose a word from our list, and then use it in any one of the three basic types of sentence — if possible.
Sentegrams : These sentences, taken from English literature, have been jumbled up like an anagram; see if you can piece them back together.
Good Sense : Rewrite these sentences so that the word ‘unless’ is not used.
The Coronation of Anne Boleyn : The weight of the crown that Anne Boleyn wore proved too heavy to bear.
Abstract : Use these words in sentences as a Noun, Verb or Adjective.
Better By Example : Gregory urged the persecuted Christians of Nazianzus to be the better men.
Speed Clues : Help a friend to guess five words in under a minute.
A Proper Game of Cricket : Mary Mitford makes an appeal for the traditional village cricket match.
Mini Bios : Write a short paragraph about a prominent person, but don’t start any sentence with he or she.
A Thousand Commas : Assess the punctuation of this sentence, according to the author’s own principles.
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