Chapter 30 of A Captive of the Roman Eagles is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of A Captive of the Roman Eagles is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die! My Melania's son! He must fly into exile!" "The Emperor will decide. But you, friend Ausonius, praise Heaven, which sent you this child.
Chapter 30 of A Captive of the Roman Eagles is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!”
reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading “"The Emperor will decide.”
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading “The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!”
the male ruler of an empire
From this reading “"The Emperor will decide.”
expel from a country
From this reading “He must fly into exile!"”
travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading “He must fly into exile!"”
an expression of approval and commendation
From this reading “But you, friend Ausonius, praise Heaven, which sent you this child.”
only a very short time before
From this reading “The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!”
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 “He must fly into exile!"”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
at or toward the back of something
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But you, friend Ausonius, praise Heaven, which sent you this child.
a young person of either sex
From this reading But you, friend Ausonius, praise Heaven, which sent you this child.
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading "The Emperor will decide.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
the male ruler of an empire
From this reading "The Emperor will decide.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
expel from a country
From this reading He must fly into exile!"
travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading He must fly into exile!"
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading But you, friend Ausonius, praise Heaven, which sent you this child.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading But you, friend Ausonius, praise Heaven, which sent you this child.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He must fly into exile!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My Melania's son!
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My Melania's son!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
an expression of approval and commendation
From this reading But you, friend Ausonius, praise Heaven, which sent you this child.
only a very short time before
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia
From this reading But you, friend Ausonius, praise Heaven, which sent you this child.
a male human offspring
From this reading My Melania's son!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But you, friend Ausonius, praise Heaven, which sent you this child.
at the time that
From this reading The curtains had scarcely dropped behind them when Ausonius exclaimed: "He must not die!
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading But you, friend Ausonius, praise Heaven, which sent you this child.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "The Emperor will decide.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading But you, friend Ausonius, praise Heaven, which sent you this child.
Chapter 30 of A Captive of the Roman Eagles by Felix Dahn holds 78 sentences, grouped into 16 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 30 holds 78 sentences of A Captive of the Roman Eagles, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of A Captive of the Roman Eagles by Felix Dahn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 78 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 30 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 Captive of the Roman Eagles by Felix Dahn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4834 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32220 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32220, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 402 minutes of reading across 967 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Captive of the Roman Eagles section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of A Captive of the Roman Eagles 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 Captive of the Roman Eagles, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
