Chapter 14 of Poor Relations is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Poor Relations is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause. "Excuse me. Listen to me. Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs? No one can produce the sum without selling some security.
Chapter 14 of Poor Relations is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
feelings of ardent love
From this reading “"You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.”
plural of “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes
From this reading “Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?”
save up as for future use
From this reading “"You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.”
bring forth or yield
From this reading “No one can produce the sum without selling some security.”
concerned with religion or religious purposes
From this reading “"You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.”
the state of being free from danger or injury
From this reading “No one can produce the sum without selling some security.”
the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money
From this reading “No one can produce the sum without selling some security.”
a quantity of money
From this reading “No one can produce the sum without selling some security.”
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 know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
later than; following
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading No one can produce the sum without selling some security.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
feelings of ardent love
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
accept an excuse for
From this reading "Excuse me.
plural of “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes
From this reading Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
save up as for future use
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
ten 10s
From this reading Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
hear with intention
From this reading Listen to me.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Excuse me.
not any; not one
From this reading No one can produce the sum without selling some security.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one can produce the sum without selling some security.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
bring forth or yield
From this reading No one can produce the sum without selling some security.
concerned with religion or religious purposes
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
the state of being free from danger or injury
From this reading No one can produce the sum without selling some security.
the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money
From this reading No one can produce the sum without selling some security.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading No one can produce the sum without selling some security.
a quantity of money
From this reading No one can produce the sum without selling some security.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading No one can produce the sum without selling some security.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You know nothing of the devotion of every city man to his sacred hoard!" he went on, after a pause.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Get this well into your head.--You want two hundred thousand francs?
Chapter 14 of Poor Relations by Honoré de Balzac holds 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 14 holds 394 sentences of Poor Relations, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Poor Relations by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Poor Relations by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13729 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12900 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12900, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2746 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Poor Relations section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of Poor Relations 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 Poor Relations, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
