Chapter 27 of Cecilia: A Story of Modern Rome is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of Cecilia: A Story of Modern Rome is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering. "I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory. But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond." He smiled sadly and looked at his friend. "Who knows?"
Chapter 27 of Cecilia: A Story of Modern Rome is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
an Italian poet famous for writing the Divine Comedy that describes a journey through Hell and purgatory and paradise guided by Virgil and his idealized Beatrice (1265-1321)
From this reading “"I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.”
of or belonging to or characteristic of this earth as distinguished from heaven
From this reading “But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."”
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading “"I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory.”
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading “But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."”
a temporary condition of torment or suffering
From this reading “"I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory.”
reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading “But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."”
returning to health after illness or debility
From this reading “"I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.”
in an unfortunate way
From this reading “He smiled sadly and looked at his friend.”
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 “But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."”
In this reading “He smiled sadly and looked at his friend.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “He smiled sadly and looked at his friend.”
In this reading “But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."”
In this reading “"I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory.”
In this reading “"I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory.”
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.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
an Italian poet famous for writing the Divine Comedy that describes a journey through Hell and purgatory and paradise guided by Virgil and his idealized Beatrice (1265-1321)
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
of or belonging to or characteristic of this earth as distinguished from heaven
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading He smiled sadly and looked at his friend.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading "I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He smiled sadly and looked at his friend.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading "Who knows?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He smiled sadly and looked at his friend.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
a temporary condition of torment or suffering
From this reading "I have been in Hell, and now I am in Purgatory.
reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
returning to health after illness or debility
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
in an unfortunate way
From this reading He smiled sadly and looked at his friend.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading He smiled sadly and looked at his friend.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
the upper part of anything
From this reading But I shall not reach the earthly Paradise at the top, much less the Heaven beyond."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
at the time that
From this reading "I am like Dante," said Guido to Lamberti, when he was recovering.
which person or people
From this reading "Who knows?"
Chapter 27 of Cecilia: A Story of Modern Rome by F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford holds 203 sentences, grouped into 41 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 27 holds 203 sentences of Cecilia: A Story of Modern Rome, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of Cecilia: A Story of Modern Rome by F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 203 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 27 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 Cecilia: A Story of Modern Rome by F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5929 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31723 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31723, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 494 minutes of reading across 1186 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cecilia: A Story of Modern Rome section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Cecilia: A Story of Modern Rome 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 Cecilia: A Story of Modern Rome, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
