Chapter 5 of Messiah is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Messiah is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“He’s known all along you’re a Cavite, hasn’t he?” “We have kept off the subject of religion entirely. As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West. I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.” “Poor creature,” said Butler, compassionately.
Chapter 5 of Messiah is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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 manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading ““Poor creature,” said Butler, compassionately.”
the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information
From this reading “As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.”
in a compassionate manner
From this reading ““Poor creature,” said Butler, compassionately.”
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading ““Poor creature,” said Butler, compassionately.”
an army unit large enough to sustain combat
From this reading “As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.”
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading “As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.”
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading ““We have kept off the subject of religion entirely.”
not wanted
From this reading “I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.””
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 ““Poor creature,” said Butler, compassionately.”
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 “He’s known all along you’re a Cavite, hasn’t he?”
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.”
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “He’s known all along you’re a Cavite, hasn’t he?”
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading “He’s known all along you’re a Cavite, hasn’t he?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
a manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading “Poor creature,” said Butler, compassionately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s known all along you’re a Cavite, hasn’t he?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.”
the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
in a compassionate manner
From this reading “Poor creature,” said Butler, compassionately.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “Poor creature,” said Butler, compassionately.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
an army unit large enough to sustain combat
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.”
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “We have kept off the subject of religion entirely.
apart from; not including
From this reading I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s known all along you’re a Cavite, hasn’t he?”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “We have kept off the subject of religion entirely.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He’s known all along you’re a Cavite, hasn’t he?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s known all along you’re a Cavite, hasn’t he?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.”
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading “We have kept off the subject of religion entirely.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading “He’s known all along you’re a Cavite, hasn’t he?”
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.”
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “We have kept off the subject of religion entirely.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “We have kept off the subject of religion entirely.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “Poor creature,” said Butler, compassionately.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading “We have kept off the subject of religion entirely.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Poor creature,” said Butler, compassionately.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading “We have kept off the subject of religion entirely.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “We have kept off the subject of religion entirely.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.”
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.”
not wanted
From this reading I don’t think he knows much about the Cavites except that they’re undesirable.”
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “We have kept off the subject of religion entirely.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading As you probably discovered, since the division of the world, there’s been little communication between East and West.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s known all along you’re a Cavite, hasn’t he?”
Chapter 5 of Messiah by Gore Vidal holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 5 holds 420 sentences of Messiah, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Messiah by Gore Vidal exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 5 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 Messiah by Gore Vidal on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Messiah section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Messiah 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 Messiah, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
