Chapter 6 of Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by. "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied. "Then you must give it to me, dear Manuel." "No, no, I cannot part with it." "But it is beautiful, and I want it," Sesphra said.
Chapter 6 of Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 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.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading “"But it is beautiful, and I want it," Sesphra said.”
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading “"That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.”
joined in matrimony
From this reading “"It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.”
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading “"No, no, I cannot part with it."”
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “"It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.”
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “"That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.”
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading “"That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.”
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “"It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.”
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 "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading "But it is beautiful, and I want it," Sesphra said.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But it is beautiful, and I want it," Sesphra said.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, no, I cannot part with it."
dearly loved
From this reading "Then you must give it to me, dear Manuel."
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "Then you must give it to me, dear Manuel."
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "No, no, I cannot part with it."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
joined in matrimony
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "Then you must give it to me, dear Manuel."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, no, I cannot part with it."
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading "No, no, I cannot part with it."
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "But it is beautiful, and I want it," Sesphra said.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then you must give it to me, dear Manuel."
in or at that place or location
From this reading "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Then you must give it to me, dear Manuel."
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "But it is beautiful, and I want it," Sesphra said.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
at the time that
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading "It is the ring my wife gave me when we were married," Manuel replied.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "No, no, I cannot part with it."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "That is a handsome ring you have there," says Sesphra, by and by.
Chapter 6 of Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances by James Branch Cabell holds 455 sentences, grouped into 91 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 6 holds 455 sentences of Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances by James Branch Cabell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 455 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 6 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 Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances by James Branch Cabell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3184 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11639 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11639, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 265 minutes of reading across 637 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances 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 Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
