Chapter 8 of A few days in Athens is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of A few days in Athens is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead. “Thanks to my generous defender. Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus. Oh! ever keep this candor and this innocence!” He turned his benign face round the circle: “Athenians!
Chapter 8 of A few days in Athens is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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 “athenian” — a resident of Athens
From this reading “He turned his benign face round the circle: “Athenians!”
not dangerous to health; not recurrent or progressive (especially of a tumor)
From this reading “He turned his benign face round the circle: “Athenians!”
ability to make judgments free from discrimination or dishonesty
From this reading “Oh! ever keep this candor and this innocence!””
a person who cares for persons or property
From this reading ““Thanks to my generous defender.”
highly enthusiastic
From this reading “The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.”
the quality of innocent naivete
From this reading “Oh! ever keep this candor and this innocence!””
a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
From this reading “The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.”
ancient Greek philosopher who formulated paradoxes that defended the belief that motion and change are illusory (circa 495-430 BC)
From this reading “Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.”
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.
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 The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
farther along in physical or mental development
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
plural of “athenian” — a resident of Athens
From this reading He turned his benign face round the circle: “Athenians!
not dangerous to health; not recurrent or progressive (especially of a tumor)
From this reading He turned his benign face round the circle: “Athenians!
ability to make judgments free from discrimination or dishonesty
From this reading Oh! ever keep this candor and this innocence!”
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading He turned his benign face round the circle: “Athenians!
a person who cares for persons or property
From this reading “Thanks to my generous defender.
the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
one or the other of two
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
Greek philosopher who believed that the world is a random combination of atoms and that pleasure is the highest good (341-270 BC)
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
at any time
From this reading Oh! ever keep this candor and this innocence!”
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He turned his benign face round the circle: “Athenians!
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
past form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
willing to give and share unstintingly
From this reading “Thanks to my generous defender.
highly enthusiastic
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
an old form of “has”
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
the quality of innocent naivete
From this reading Oh! ever keep this candor and this innocence!”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Oh! ever keep this candor and this innocence!”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
set down according to a plan
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Thanks to my generous defender.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh! ever keep this candor and this innocence!”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading He turned his benign face round the circle: “Athenians!
a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
a male human offspring
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
an acknowledgment of appreciation
From this reading “Thanks to my generous defender.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Oh! ever keep this candor and this innocence!”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Thanks to my generous defender.
in the direction of
From this reading The Sage advanced towards Theon: he laid a hand on either of his shoulders, and kissed his glowing forehead.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned his benign face round the circle: “Athenians!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
ancient Greek philosopher who formulated paradoxes that defended the belief that motion and change are illusory (circa 495-430 BC)
From this reading Your artless tale, my son, if it have not gained the ear of Zeno, hath fixed the heart of Epicurus.
Chapter 8 of A few days in Athens by Frances Wright holds 107 sentences, grouped into 22 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 8 holds 107 sentences of A few days in Athens, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of A few days in Athens by Frances Wright exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 107 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 8 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 few days in Athens by Frances Wright on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2164 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #69466 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #69466, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 180 minutes of reading across 433 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A few days in Athens section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of A few days in Athens 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 few days in Athens, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
