Chapter 2 of A Book of Sibyls is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Book of Sibyls is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'Yes, but thou must come first.' 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.' 'I never wait.' 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?' 'Nothing is there that can feel the sun.'
Chapter 2 of A Book of Sibyls is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading “'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'”
death of a person
From this reading “'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'”
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading “'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'”
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'”
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading “'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'”
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading “'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'”
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “'I never wait.'”
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading “'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'”
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 “'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'”
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 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'
anew
From this reading 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading 'Yes, but thou must come first.'
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading 'Nothing is there that can feel the sun.'
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading 'Yes, but thou must come first.'
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading 'Nothing is there that can feel the sun.'
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading 'Yes, but thou must come first.'
death of a person
From this reading 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'I never wait.'
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Nothing is there that can feel the sun.'
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading 'Yes, but thou must come first.'
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading 'I never wait.'
not one thing; not anything
From this reading 'Nothing is there that can feel the sun.'
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading 'Nothing is there that can feel the sun.'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'
in or at that place or location
From this reading 'Nothing is there that can feel the sun.'
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading 'Yes, but thou must come first.'
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'
up to a particular time
From this reading 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading 'Stop a little; keep thy hand off till thou hast told me.'
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading 'I never wait.'
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading 'Oh! shall I see the warm sun again in my cold grave?'
an affirmative
From this reading 'Yes, but thou must come first.'
Chapter 2 of A Book of Sibyls by Anne Thackeray Ritchie holds 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 2 holds 441 sentences of A Book of Sibyls, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Book of Sibyls by Anne Thackeray Ritchie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 2 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 Book of Sibyls by Anne Thackeray Ritchie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2171 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30435 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30435, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 180 minutes of reading across 435 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Book of Sibyls section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of A Book of Sibyls 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 Book of Sibyls, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
