Chapter 31 of Middlemarch is here in full — 532 sentences across 107 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Middlemarch is here in full — 532 sentences across 107 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
1_st Gent_. Where lies the power, there let the blame lie too. 2_d Gent_. Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument. All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
Chapter 31 of Middlemarch is here in full — 532 sentences across 107 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/106 · 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.
possessive form of “action” — something done (usually as opposed to something said)
a line that indicates a boundary
From this reading “Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.”
the lean flesh of a fish that is often farmed; can be baked or braised
From this reading “Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.”
include or contain; have as a component
From this reading “All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.”
plural of “fortress” — a fortified defensive structure
From this reading “Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.”
informal abbreviation of “gentleman”
lacking in energy or will
From this reading “All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.”
a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal
From this reading “Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.”
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 force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
possessive form of “action” — something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
(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 force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
a fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
put or pin the blame on
From this reading Where lies the power, there let the blame lie too.
a line that indicates a boundary
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
the lean flesh of a fish that is often farmed; can be baked or braised
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
include or contain; have as a component
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading 2_d Gent_.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
plural of “fortress” — a fortified defensive structure
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
informal abbreviation of “gentleman”
From this reading 1_st Gent_.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Where lies the power, there let the blame lie too.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading Where lies the power, there let the blame lie too.
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
From this reading Where lies the power, there let the blame lie too.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
an old word for “no”
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
in such a manner as could not be otherwise
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
lacking in energy or will
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
possession of controlling influence
From this reading Where lies the power, there let the blame lie too.
a person related by blood or marriage
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
your consciousness of your own identity
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1_st Gent_.
difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Where lies the power, there let the blame lie too.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Where lies the power, there let the blame lie too.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Where lies the power, there let the blame lie too.
two items of the same kind
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
except if; if not
From this reading All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; and action’s self Must needs contain a passive.
in or at the place that
From this reading Where lies the power, there let the blame lie too.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Nay, power is relative; you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument.
Chapter 31 of Middlemarch by George Eliot holds 532 sentences, grouped into 107 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 31 holds 532 sentences of Middlemarch, unabridged, divided into 107 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Middlemarch by George Eliot exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 532 sentences, grouped into 107 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 107 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 107 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 31 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.
