Chapter 16 of A Mortal Antipathy is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of A Mortal Antipathy is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“There, doctor! Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor? Have n't I solved the riddle of the Sphinx? Who can this man be but the boy of that story? Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
Chapter 16 of A Mortal Antipathy is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
the specified day of the month
From this reading “Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.”
being one more than ten
From this reading “Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.”
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading “Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.”
pierce with many holes
From this reading “Have n't I solved the riddle of the Sphinx?”
explained or answered
From this reading “Have n't I solved the riddle of the Sphinx?”
an inscrutable person who keeps his thoughts and intentions secret
From this reading “Have n't I solved the riddle of the Sphinx?”
being five more than twenty
From this reading “Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.”
someone who visits
From this reading “Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
how long something has existed
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Who can this man be but the boy of that story?
a youthful male person
From this reading Who can this man be but the boy of that story?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Who can this man be but the boy of that story?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Who can this man be but the boy of that story?
the specified day of the month
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “There, doctor!
being one more than ten
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
set up or found
From this reading Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
and nothing more
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
engage in
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Who can this man be but the boy of that story?
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
pierce with many holes
From this reading Have n't I solved the riddle of the Sphinx?
explained or answered
From this reading Have n't I solved the riddle of the Sphinx?
an inscrutable person who keeps his thoughts and intentions secret
From this reading Have n't I solved the riddle of the Sphinx?
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 Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Who can this man be but the boy of that story?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?
in or at that place or location
From this reading “There, doctor!
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?
being five more than twenty
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
someone who visits
From this reading Have n't I found the true story of this strange visitor?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
at the time that
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
which person or people
From this reading Who can this man be but the boy of that story?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
a late time of life
From this reading Look at the date of the journal when he was eleven years old, it would make him twenty-five now, and that is just about the age the people here think he must be of.
Chapter 16 of A Mortal Antipathy by Oliver Wendell Holmes holds 158 sentences, grouped into 32 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 16 holds 158 sentences of A Mortal Antipathy, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of A Mortal Antipathy by Oliver Wendell Holmes exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 16 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 Mortal Antipathy by Oliver Wendell Holmes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3911 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2698 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2698, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 325 minutes of reading across 783 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Mortal Antipathy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of A Mortal Antipathy 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 Mortal Antipathy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
