Chapter 256 of Les Misérables is here in full — 85 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter CCLVI
Chapter 256 of Les Misérables is here in full — 85 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
This being the case, is all social danger dispelled? Certainly not. There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head. But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes. Apoplexy is no longer to be feared, but phthisis is there.
Chapter 256 of Les Misérables is here in full — 85 sentences across 17 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 sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain
From this reading “Apoplexy is no longer to be feared, but phthisis is there.”
marked by assurance; exhibiting confidence
From this reading “There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.”
third-person singular of “breathe” — draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading “But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.”
inflected form of “dispel” — force to go away; used both with concrete and metaphoric meanings
From this reading “This being the case, is all social danger dispelled?”
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading “Apoplexy is no longer to be feared, but phthisis is there.”
paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people)
From this reading “But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.”
move hurridly
From this reading “There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.”
relating to human society and its members
From this reading “This being the case, is all social danger dispelled?”
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 “There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.”
listen and pay attention
In this reading “But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading This being the case, is all social danger dispelled?
a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain
From this reading Apoplexy is no longer to be feared, but phthisis is there.
marked by assurance; exhibiting confidence
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Apoplexy is no longer to be feared, but phthisis is there.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading This being the case, is all social danger dispelled?
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
third-person singular of “breathe” — draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.
an occurrence of something
From this reading This being the case, is all social danger dispelled?
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Certainly not.
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading This being the case, is all social danger dispelled?
inflected form of “dispel” — force to go away; used both with concrete and metaphoric meanings
From this reading This being the case, is all social danger dispelled?
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Apoplexy is no longer to be feared, but phthisis is there.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people)
From this reading But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This being the case, is all social danger dispelled?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.
for more time
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
not any; not one
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Certainly not.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
involving the lungs with progressive wasting of the body
From this reading Apoplexy is no longer to be feared, but phthisis is there.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
move hurridly
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
relating to human society and its members
From this reading This being the case, is all social danger dispelled?
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
carry out
From this reading But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This being the case, is all social danger dispelled?
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This being the case, is all social danger dispelled?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading But let society take heed to the manner in which it breathes.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading There is no Jacquerie; society may rest assured on that point; blood will no longer rush to its head.
Chapter 256 of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo holds 85 sentences, grouped into 17 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 256 holds 85 sentences of Les Misérables, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 256 of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 85 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 256 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 Les Misérables by Victor Hugo on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Les Misérables section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Les Misérables 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 Les Misérables, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
