Chapter 13 of Messiah is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Messiah is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Iris will bring the body back,” said Cave. He was still quite calm. “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said. You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.” It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
Chapter 13 of Messiah is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 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.
make by combining materials and parts
From this reading “You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.””
a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading ““Iris will bring the body back,” said Cave.”
pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
From this reading ““I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.”
the act of forming or establishing something
From this reading “You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.””
plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals
From this reading ““Iris will bring the body back,” said Cave.”
humorously sarcastic or mocking
From this reading “It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.”
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading “You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.””
giving satisfaction
From this reading “You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.””
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 “You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.””
In this reading “It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.”
In this reading “It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.”
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 You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
(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 You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “Iris will bring the body back,” said Cave.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading “Iris will bring the body back,” said Cave.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading “Iris will bring the body back,” said Cave.
make by combining materials and parts
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
make calm or still
From this reading He was still quite calm.
a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading “Iris will bring the body back,” said Cave.
pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
the act of forming or establishing something
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
at any time
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
undergo or live through a difficult experience
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was still quite calm.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals
From this reading “Iris will bring the body back,” said Cave.
humorously sarcastic or mocking
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
used to form the superlative
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
a brief written record
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
and nothing more
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading He was still quite calm.
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Iris will bring the body back,” said Cave.
giving satisfaction
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
not in physical motion
From this reading He was still quite calm.
deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Iris will bring the body back,” said Cave.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was still quite calm.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “I choose to do it this way and there’s nothing more to be said.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “Iris will bring the body back,” said Cave.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was the only time in my experience with Cave that I ever heard him strike the ironic note.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading You’ll have the Establishment all to yourself and I will be a most satisfactory figure upon which to build a world religion.”
Chapter 13 of Messiah by Gore Vidal holds 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 13 holds 422 sentences of Messiah, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Messiah by Gore Vidal exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 13 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.
