Chapter 27 of Middlemarch is here in full — 551 sentences across 111 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of Middlemarch is here in full — 551 sentences across 111 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
Chapter 27 of Middlemarch is here in full — 551 sentences across 111 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/110 · 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.
protective covering made of metal and used in combat
From this reading ““How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!”
brought into existence
From this reading ““How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!”
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading ““How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!”
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading ““How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!”
having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved
From this reading ““How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!”
an ability that has been acquired by training
From this reading ““How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!”
inflected form of “teach” — impart skills or knowledge to
From this reading ““How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!”
a fact that has been verified
From this reading ““How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
protective covering made of metal and used in combat
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
brought into existence
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
and nothing more
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
an ability that has been acquired by training
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
inflected form of “teach” — impart skills or knowledge to
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
a fact that has been verified
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
belonging to which person
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill!
Chapter 27 of Middlemarch by George Eliot holds 551 sentences, grouped into 111 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 27 holds 551 sentences of Middlemarch, unabridged, divided into 111 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of Middlemarch by George Eliot exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 551 sentences, grouped into 111 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 111 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 111 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 27 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.
