Chapter 36 of Confession is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter 36 of Confession is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FATAL SILENCE. Strange and cruel destiny! When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness. It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come. And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
Chapter 36 of Confession is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/69 · 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.
additional proof that something that was believed (some fact or hypothesis or theory) is correct
From this reading “It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.”
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading “Strange and cruel destiny!”
past form of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.”
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading “Strange and cruel destiny!”
the act of discovering something
From this reading “And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.”
bringing death
From this reading “FATAL SILENCE.”
the muscle tone of healthy tissue
From this reading “When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.”
past form of “overwhelm” — overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
From this reading “When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.”
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 And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Strange and cruel destiny!
any person at all
From this reading And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
past form of “believe” — accept as true; take to be true
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
additional proof that something that was believed (some fact or hypothesis or theory) is correct
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading Strange and cruel destiny!
past form of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading Strange and cruel destiny!
the act of discovering something
From this reading And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.
bringing death
From this reading FATAL SILENCE.
the state of being weak in health or body (especially from old age)
From this reading When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.
the muscle tone of healthy tissue
From this reading When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
a particular point in time
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
past form of “overwhelm” — overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
From this reading When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.
made ready or fit or suitable beforehand
From this reading And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading FATAL SILENCE.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Strange and cruel destiny!
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.
at the time that
From this reading When everything depended upon my firmness, I was overwhelmed by feebleness.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It seemed as if I had not before believed that this terrible moment of confirmation would come.
but in spite of that
From this reading And yet, if anybody could have been prepared for such a discovery, I should have been.
Chapter 36 of Confession by William Gilmore Simms holds 349 sentences, grouped into 70 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 36 holds 349 sentences of Confession, unabridged, divided into 70 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 36 of Confession by William Gilmore Simms exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 349 sentences, grouped into 70 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 70 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 70 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 36 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 Confession by William Gilmore Simms on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7827 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6059 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6059, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1566 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Confession section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Confession 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 Confession, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
