Chapter 21 of A Black Adonis is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of A Black Adonis is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LIKE A STUCK PIG. Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black. There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did. There are others as dark as Erebus who would have done nothing of the sort. He was no ordinary negro.
Chapter 21 of A Black Adonis is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect
From this reading “Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.”
plural of “complexion” — the coloring of a person's face
From this reading “There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.”
general who commanded the Carthaginian army in the second Punic War; crossed the Alps and defeated the Romans but was recalled to defend Carthage and was defeated (247-182 BC)
From this reading “Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.”
with respect to moral principles
From this reading “Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.”
a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today
From this reading “He was no ordinary negro.”
a judge of a probate court
From this reading “He was no ordinary negro.”
domestic swine
From this reading “LIKE A STUCK PIG.”
caught or fixed
From this reading “LIKE A STUCK PIG.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading LIKE A STUCK PIG.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
for the reason that
From this reading Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.
a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect
From this reading Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.
plural of “complexion” — the coloring of a person's face
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading There are others as dark as Erebus who would have done nothing of the sort.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
(Greek mythology) Greek god of darkness who dwelt in the underworld; son of Chaos; brother of Nox; father of Aether and Day
From this reading There are others as dark as Erebus who would have done nothing of the sort.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
general who commanded the Carthaginian army in the second Punic War; crossed the Alps and defeated the Romans but was recalled to defend Carthage and was defeated (247-182 BC)
From this reading Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading LIKE A STUCK PIG.
the force of workers available
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
with respect to moral principles
From this reading Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.
a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today
From this reading He was no ordinary negro.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.
not any; not one
From this reading He was no ordinary negro.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There are others as dark as Erebus who would have done nothing of the sort.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There are others as dark as Erebus who would have done nothing of the sort.
a judge of a probate court
From this reading He was no ordinary negro.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There are others as dark as Erebus who would have done nothing of the sort.
domestic swine
From this reading LIKE A STUCK PIG.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading There are others as dark as Erebus who would have done nothing of the sort.
caught or fixed
From this reading LIKE A STUCK PIG.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There are others as dark as Erebus who would have done nothing of the sort.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.
a Caucasian
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
which person or people
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
in the company of; together with
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading Hannibal was neither better nor worse, morally, because his color was black.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading There are men with white complexions who would have done exactly as he did.
Chapter 21 of A Black Adonis by Linn Boyd Porter holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 21 holds 186 sentences of A Black Adonis, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of A Black Adonis by Linn Boyd Porter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 sentences, grouped into 38 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 21 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A Black Adonis by Linn Boyd Porter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5408 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26599 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26599, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 450 minutes of reading across 1082 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Black Adonis section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of A Black Adonis to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Black Adonis, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
