Chapter 4 of Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The young Greek shivered and stood passive. His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him. Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on. He seemed to be considering. The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
Chapter 4 of Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
without aim; in an aimless manner
From this reading “His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him.”
eagerly desirous
From this reading “The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.”
-ing form of “consider” — deem to be
From this reading “He seemed to be considering.”
the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages
From this reading “The young Greek shivered and stood passive.”
lacking in energy or will
From this reading “The young Greek shivered and stood passive.”
(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading “The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.”
past form of “shiver” — tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading “The young Greek shivered and stood passive.”
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading “His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him.”
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 “His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him.”
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.”
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.
without aim; in an aimless manner
From this reading His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The young Greek shivered and stood passive.
eagerly desirous
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He seemed to be considering.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
-ing form of “consider” — deem to be
From this reading He seemed to be considering.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.
the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages
From this reading The young Greek shivered and stood passive.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He seemed to be considering.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.
not any; not one
From this reading Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.
above and across; more than
From this reading His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him.
lacking in energy or will
From this reading The young Greek shivered and stood passive.
(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading He seemed to be considering.
past form of “shiver” — tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading The young Greek shivered and stood passive.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The young Greek shivered and stood passive.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The young Greek shivered and stood passive.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Kabir dropped his hold, but Charmides made no move to go on.
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading His eyes wandered aimlessly over the scene before him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The company was eying him in an anxious silence that had something of respect in it.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The young Greek shivered and stood passive.
Chapter 4 of Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy by Margaret Horton Potter holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 427 sentences of Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy by Margaret Horton Potter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy by Margaret Horton Potter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8704 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38710 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38710, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1741 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy 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 Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
