Chapter 5 of Painted Veils is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Painted Veils is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent. If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick. That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality? He was forced to smile over the crudeness of his question. Either you have it or you haven't--personality.
Chapter 5 of Painted Veils is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 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.
to gain with effort
From this reading “If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.”
an authoritative declaration
From this reading “That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality?”
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading “He was forced to smile over the crudeness of his question.”
the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual
From this reading “II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.”
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
From this reading “II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.”
taking in or moving over (or as if over) a wide area; often used in combination
From this reading “That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality?”
natural abilities or qualities
From this reading “II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.”
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.”
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.
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 If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.
to gain with effort
From this reading If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.
a wild or unrefined state
From this reading He was forced to smile over the crudeness of his question.
an authoritative declaration
From this reading That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality?
one or the other of two
From this reading Either you have it or you haven't--personality.
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading He was forced to smile over the crudeness of his question.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Either you have it or you haven't--personality.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Either you have it or you haven't--personality.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was forced to smile over the crudeness of his question.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Either you have it or you haven't--personality.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality?
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.
not any; not one
From this reading II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Either you have it or you haven't--personality.
above and across; more than
From this reading He was forced to smile over the crudeness of his question.
the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual
From this reading II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
From this reading II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading He was forced to smile over the crudeness of his question.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading He was forced to smile over the crudeness of his question.
taking in or moving over (or as if over) a wide area; often used in combination
From this reading That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality?
natural abilities or qualities
From this reading II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was forced to smile over the crudeness of his question.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality?
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was forced to smile over the crudeness of his question.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading That's what this sweeping dictum means: but how to achieve a personality?
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading II One phrase of Huysmans he remembered: without personality, no talent.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading If I can't achieve a personality I shall never become a writer, thought Ulick.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Either you have it or you haven't--personality.
Chapter 5 of Painted Veils by James Huneker holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 5 holds 420 sentences of Painted Veils, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Painted Veils by James Huneker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 5 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 Painted Veils by James Huneker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5843 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47141 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47141, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 486 minutes of reading across 1169 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Painted Veils section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Painted Veils 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 Painted Veils, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
