Chapter 1 of A Victor of Salamis is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Victor of Salamis is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The MM Co. AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC. On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.” Set up and electrotyped.
Chapter 1 of A Victor of Salamis is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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 capital and largest city of Greece; named after Athena (its patron goddess)
From this reading “On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.””
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.”
a republic in southeastern Europe on the southern part of the Balkan peninsula; known for grapes and olives and olive oil
From this reading “On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.””
in a noble manner
From this reading “On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.””
free of extraneous elements of any kind
From this reading “On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.””
the state of being covered with unclean things
From this reading “On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.””
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading “On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.””
plural of “will” — the capability of conscious choice and decision and intention
From this reading “AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.”
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 AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
the capital and largest city of Greece; named after Athena (its patron goddess)
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.
(Old Testament) Babylonian general and son of Nebuchadnezzar II; according to the Old Testament he was warned of his doom by divine handwriting on the wall that was interpreted by Daniel (6th century BC)
From this reading AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading The MM Co.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Set up and electrotyped.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.
the organ of sight
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.
a republic in southeastern Europe on the southern part of the Balkan peninsula; known for grapes and olives and olive oil
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
a metric unit of length equal to one thousandth of a meter
From this reading The MM Co.
in a noble manner
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
free of extraneous elements of any kind
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Set up and electrotyped.
the land along the edge of a body of water
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
the state of being covered with unclean things
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The MM Co.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Set up and electrotyped.
plural of “will” — the capability of conscious choice and decision and intention
From this reading AUTHOR OF “A FRIEND OF CÆSAR,” “GOD WILLS IT,” “BELSHAZZAR,” ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the Ægean shore a city stands, Built nobly, pure the air and light the soil, Athens, the eye of Greece.”
Chapter 1 of A Victor of Salamis by William Stearns Davis holds 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 1 holds 134 sentences of A Victor of Salamis, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Victor of Salamis by William Stearns Davis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 1 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 Victor of Salamis by William Stearns Davis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9333 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27587 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27587, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1867 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Victor of Salamis section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of A Victor of Salamis 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 Victor of Salamis, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
