Chapter 7 of Messiah is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Messiah is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“At first we hardly knew what to do.” Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor. “He’d always made such a point of the audience. He needed actual people to excite him. Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.
Chapter 7 of Messiah is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible
From this reading “He needed actual people to excite him.”
a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance
From this reading ““He’d always made such a point of the audience.”
a native or inhabitant of Europe
From this reading “Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.”
arouse or elicit a feeling
From this reading “He needed actual people to excite him.”
make full, also in a metaphorical sense
From this reading “Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.”
plural of “rumbling” — a loud low dull continuous noise
From this reading “Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.”
in a peacefully serene manner
From this reading “Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.”
workplace for the teaching or practice of an art
From this reading “Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.”
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 “Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.”
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’d always made such a point of the audience.
presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible
From this reading He needed actual people to excite him.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading “He’d always made such a point of the audience.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “At first we hardly knew what to do.”
a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance
From this reading “He’d always made such a point of the audience.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “At first we hardly knew what to do.”
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.
a native or inhabitant of Europe
From this reading Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.
arouse or elicit a feeling
From this reading He needed actual people to excite him.
make full, also in a metaphorical sense
From this reading Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading “At first we hardly knew what to do.”
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.
only a very short time before
From this reading “At first we hardly knew what to do.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He needed actual people to excite him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’d always made such a point of the audience.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He needed actual people to excite him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “At first we hardly knew what to do.”
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading “He’d always made such a point of the audience.
necessary for relief or supply
From this reading He needed actual people to excite him.
not any; not one
From this reading Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.
above and across; more than
From this reading Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.
United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading He needed actual people to excite him.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading “He’d always made such a point of the audience.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.
plural of “rumbling” — a loud low dull continuous noise
From this reading Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.
in a peacefully serene manner
From this reading Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.
workplace for the teaching or practice of an art
From this reading Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading “He’d always made such a point of the audience.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “At first we hardly knew what to do.”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Iris’s voice rose serenely over the East European rumblings of the doctor.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “At first we hardly knew what to do.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “At first we hardly knew what to do.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading Paul wanted to fill the studio with a friendly audience but John said no.
Chapter 7 of Messiah by Gore Vidal holds 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 7 holds 413 sentences of Messiah, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Messiah by Gore Vidal exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 7 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.
