Chapter 14 of Middlemarch is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Middlemarch is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
1_st Gent_. All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight. 2_d Gent_. Why, true. The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
Chapter 14 of Middlemarch is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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 system of timekeeping that defines the beginning and length and divisions of the year
From this reading “The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.”
past form of “clasp” — hold firmly and tightly
From this reading “The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.”
inflected form of “foresee” — realize beforehand
From this reading “The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.”
informal abbreviation of “gentleman”
common to or shared by two or more parties
From this reading “All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.”
uttered with a trill
From this reading “The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.”
the taste experience when sugar dissolves in the mouth
From this reading “The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.”
having been taken in marriage
From this reading “All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1_st Gent_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 2_d Gent_.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
(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 All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
separated or at a distance in place or position or time
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
a system of timekeeping that defines the beginning and length and divisions of the year
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
past form of “clasp” — hold firmly and tightly
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading 2_d Gent_.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
divisible by two
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
inflected form of “foresee” — realize beforehand
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
informal abbreviation of “gentleman”
From this reading 1_st Gent_.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
an old form of “has”
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
common to or shared by two or more parties
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
not any; not one
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
uttered with a trill
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
try to get or reach
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
plural of “soul” — the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1_st Gent_.
the taste experience when sugar dissolves in the mouth
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading Why, true.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
plural of “wave” — one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
having been taken in marriage
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
during the time that
From this reading The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, true.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
Chapter 14 of Middlemarch by George Eliot holds 200 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 14 holds 200 sentences of Middlemarch, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Middlemarch by George Eliot exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 200 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 14 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 Middlemarch by George Eliot on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 14163 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #145 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #145, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2833 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Middlemarch section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Middlemarch 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 Middlemarch, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
