Chapter 1 of Barbarians is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Barbarians is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"The Dark Star," "The Girl Philippa," "Who Goes There," Etc. "Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path! The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare! The Hun is come!" "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
Chapter 1 of Barbarians is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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.
a region of northern Africa on the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Gibraltar; was used as a base for pirates from the 16th to 19th centuries
From this reading “"Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path!”
resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility
From this reading “"Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path!”
make a strident sound
From this reading “The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!”
a musical percussion instrument; usually consists of a hollow cylinder with a membrane stretched across each end
From this reading “The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!”
plural of “horn” — a noisemaker (as at parties or games) that makes a loud noise when you blow through it
From this reading “The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!”
a member of a nomadic people who invaded Europe in the 4th century
From this reading “The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!”
plural of “reek” — a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant
From this reading “"Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.”
a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant
From this reading “"Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.”
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.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
a region of northern Africa on the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Gibraltar; was used as a base for pirates from the 16th to 19th centuries
From this reading "Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path!
the act of overcoming or outdoing
From this reading The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path!
resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility
From this reading "Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path!
make a strident sound
From this reading The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The Hun is come!"
absence of light or illumination
From this reading "The Dark Star," "The Girl Philippa," "Who Goes There," Etc.
a female human offspring
From this reading "Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path!
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
a musical percussion instrument; usually consists of a hollow cylinder with a membrane stretched across each end
From this reading The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The Dark Star," "The Girl Philippa," "Who Goes There," Etc.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
a young female
From this reading "The Dark Star," "The Girl Philippa," "Who Goes There," Etc.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading "The Dark Star," "The Girl Philippa," "Who Goes There," Etc.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!
plural of “horn” — a noisemaker (as at parties or games) that makes a loud noise when you blow through it
From this reading The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!
a member of a nomadic people who invaded Europe in the 4th century
From this reading The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading "Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path!
coated with paint
From this reading The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!
a course of conduct
From this reading "Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The Dark Star," "The Girl Philippa," "Who Goes There," Etc.
plural of “reek” — a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading "The Dark Star," "The Girl Philippa," "Who Goes There," Etc.
a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The Dark Star," "The Girl Philippa," "Who Goes There," Etc.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "The Dark Star," "The Girl Philippa," "Who Goes There," Etc.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
an old word for “yours”
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading "Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path!
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading The Hun is beating his painted drum; His war horns blare!
which person or people
From this reading "The Dark Star," "The Girl Philippa," "Who Goes There," Etc.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Father, I feel his fœtid breath: The thick air reeks with the stench of death; My will is Thine.
intense anger (usually on an epic scale)
From this reading "Daughter of Light, the bestial wrath Of Barbary besets thy path!
Chapter 1 of Barbarians by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers holds 89 sentences, grouped into 18 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 89 sentences of Barbarians, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Barbarians by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 89 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 Barbarians by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4087 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25623 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25623, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 340 minutes of reading across 818 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Barbarians section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Barbarians 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 Barbarians, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
