Chapter 4 of Dreams of an astronomer is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Dreams of an astronomer is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ. (Hesperus, most beautiful of stars in the sky.) HOMER, _Iliad_. IT was Homer who, 3,000 years ago, saluted Venus as the most beautiful of stars. Who has not been struck with her wonderful brilliance?
Chapter 4 of Dreams of an astronomer is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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 light within the field of vision that is brighter than the brightness to which the eyes are adapted
From this reading “Who has not been struck with her wonderful brilliance?”
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading “HOMER, _Iliad_.”
a Greek epic poem (attributed to Homer) describing the siege of Troy
past form of “salute” — propose a toast to
From this reading “IT was Homer who, 3,000 years ago, saluted Venus as the most beautiful of stars.”
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading “(Hesperus, most beautiful of stars in the sky.)”
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading “(Hesperus, most beautiful of stars in the sky.)”
the second nearest planet to the sun
From this reading “VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “Who has not been struck with her wonderful brilliance?”
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 “(Hesperus, most beautiful of stars in the sky.)”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading IT was Homer who, 3,000 years ago, saluted Venus as the most beautiful of stars.
in the past
From this reading IT was Homer who, 3,000 years ago, saluted Venus as the most beautiful of stars.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading IT was Homer who, 3,000 years ago, saluted Venus as the most beautiful of stars.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Who has not been struck with her wonderful brilliance?
a light within the field of vision that is brighter than the brightness to which the eyes are adapted
From this reading Who has not been struck with her wonderful brilliance?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Who has not been struck with her wonderful brilliance?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Who has not been struck with her wonderful brilliance?
a planet (usually Venus) seen at sunset in the western sky
From this reading (Hesperus, most beautiful of stars in the sky.)
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading HOMER, _Iliad_.
a Greek epic poem (attributed to Homer) describing the siege of Troy
From this reading HOMER, _Iliad_.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading (Hesperus, most beautiful of stars in the sky.)
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading IT was Homer who, 3,000 years ago, saluted Venus as the most beautiful of stars.
used to form the superlative
From this reading (Hesperus, most beautiful of stars in the sky.)
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Who has not been struck with her wonderful brilliance?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading (Hesperus, most beautiful of stars in the sky.)
past form of “salute” — propose a toast to
From this reading IT was Homer who, 3,000 years ago, saluted Venus as the most beautiful of stars.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading (Hesperus, most beautiful of stars in the sky.)
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading (Hesperus, most beautiful of stars in the sky.)
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading Who has not been struck with her wonderful brilliance?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ.
the second nearest planet to the sun
From this reading VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading IT was Homer who, 3,000 years ago, saluted Venus as the most beautiful of stars.
which person or people
From this reading IT was Homer who, 3,000 years ago, saluted Venus as the most beautiful of stars.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Who has not been struck with her wonderful brilliance?
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading Who has not been struck with her wonderful brilliance?
a late time of life
From this reading IT was Homer who, 3,000 years ago, saluted Venus as the most beautiful of stars.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VENUS THE BEAUTIFUL Eσπερος ος кἀλλιστος έν ούρανω ιρταται ἁστηρ.
Chapter 4 of Dreams of an astronomer by Camille Flammarion holds 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 4 holds 129 sentences of Dreams of an astronomer, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Dreams of an astronomer by Camille Flammarion exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 4 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 Dreams of an astronomer by Camille Flammarion on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1646 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #74239 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #74239, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 137 minutes of reading across 330 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dreams of an astronomer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Dreams of an astronomer 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 Dreams of an astronomer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
