Chapter 3 of Clio is here in full — 599 sentences across 120 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Clio is here in full — 599 sentences across 120 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FRA AMBROGIO. Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines! FARINATA. Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio. And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
Chapter 3 of Clio is here in full — 599 sentences across 120 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/119 · 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 skilled practice of a practical occupation
From this reading “Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!”
performance of moral or religious acts
From this reading “And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.”
plural of “example” — an item of information that is typical of a class or group
From this reading “And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.”
being of such surpassing excellence as to suggest inspiration by the gods
From this reading “And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.”
carry out or perform an action
From this reading “And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.”
without mercy or pity
From this reading “Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!”
plural of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading “And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.”
an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists)
From this reading “Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!”
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.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and one thousand
In this reading “Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!”
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 positive feeling of liking
From this reading Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FRA AMBROGIO.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio.
past form of “cause” — give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
the skilled practice of a practical occupation
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
performance of moral or religious acts
From this reading And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
plural of “example” — an item of information that is typical of a class or group
From this reading And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FRA AMBROGIO.
being of such surpassing excellence as to suggest inspiration by the gods
From this reading And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
carry out or perform an action
From this reading And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
without mercy or pity
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
plural of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio.
carry out
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists)
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio.
Having or showing the qualities or abilities that merit recognition in character or magic.
From this reading And the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to our sons and our sons' sons.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand Florentines!
Chapter 3 of Clio by Anatole France holds 599 sentences, grouped into 120 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 3 holds 599 sentences of Clio, unabridged, divided into 120 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Clio by Anatole France exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 599 sentences, grouped into 120 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 120 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 120 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 3 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 Clio by Anatole France on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2879 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50670 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50670, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 239 minutes of reading across 576 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Clio section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Clio 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 Clio, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
