Chapter 17 of Father Goriot is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Father Goriot is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“You will succeed,” the old man said. “God is just, you see. I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you. I am to have another dear child in you, am I? There, go to sleep; you can sleep; you are not yet a father.
Chapter 17 of Father Goriot is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading “I am to have another dear child in you, am I?”
a young person of either sex
From this reading “I am to have another dear child in you, am I?”
dearly loved
From this reading “I am to have another dear child in you, am I?”
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “There, go to sleep; you can sleep; you are not yet a father.”
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading ““God is just, you see.”
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading “I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.”
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading “There, go to sleep; you can sleep; you are not yet a father.”
attain success or reach a desired goal
From this reading ““You will succeed,” the old man said.”
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 There, go to sleep; you can sleep; you are not yet a father.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am to have another dear child in you, am I?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading I am to have another dear child in you, am I?
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
a young person of either sex
From this reading I am to have another dear child in you, am I?
dearly loved
From this reading I am to have another dear child in you, am I?
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading There, go to sleep; you can sleep; you are not yet a father.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading There, go to sleep; you can sleep; you are not yet a father.
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading “God is just, you see.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I am to have another dear child in you, am I?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I am to have another dear child in you, am I?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “God is just, you see.
and nothing more
From this reading “God is just, you see.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “You will succeed,” the old man said.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
the force of workers available
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “You will succeed,” the old man said.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “You will succeed,” the old man said.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “God is just, you see.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading There, go to sleep; you can sleep; you are not yet a father.
attain success or reach a desired goal
From this reading “You will succeed,” the old man said.
express in words
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “You will succeed,” the old man said.
in or at that place or location
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I am to have another dear child in you, am I?
at the time that
From this reading I know an honest man when I see him, and I can tell you, there are not many men like you.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “You will succeed,” the old man said.
but in spite of that
From this reading There, go to sleep; you can sleep; you are not yet a father.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You will succeed,” the old man said.
Chapter 17 of Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac holds 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 17 holds 170 sentences of Father Goriot, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 17 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 Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5569 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1237 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1237, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 464 minutes of reading across 1114 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Father Goriot section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of Father Goriot 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 Father Goriot, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
