Chapter 1 of Representative Men: Seven Lectures is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Representative Men: Seven Lectures is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
VI. Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN. It is natural to believe in great men. If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us. All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
Chapter 1 of Representative Men: Seven Lectures 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.
plural of “hero” — a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading “If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.”
myths collectively; the body of stories associated with a culture or institution or person
From this reading “All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.”
French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821)
From this reading “Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.”
plural of “open” — a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
From this reading “All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.”
having superior power and influence
From this reading “All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.”
of or relating to poetry
From this reading “All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.”
belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
From this reading “If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.”
plural of “use” — the act of using
From this reading “Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.”
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.
(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 mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading It is natural to believe in great men.
the time of person's life when they are a child
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
a condition that accompanies or influences some event or activity
From this reading All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
plural of “companion” — a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
a state at a particular time
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality
From this reading All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.
plural of “hero” — a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It is natural to believe in great men.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is natural to believe in great men.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is natural to believe in great men.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.
the force of workers available
From this reading Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.
myths collectively; the body of stories associated with a culture or institution or person
From this reading All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821)
From this reading Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading It is natural to believe in great men.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.
plural of “open” — a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
From this reading All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
having superior power and influence
From this reading All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
of or relating to poetry
From this reading All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It is natural to believe in great men.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
plural of “use” — the act of using
From this reading Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading VI.
in the company of; together with
From this reading All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading Napoleon; or, the Man of the World I. USES OF GREAT MEN.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us.
Chapter 1 of Representative Men: Seven Lectures by Ralph Waldo Emerson holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 1 holds 420 sentences of Representative Men: Seven Lectures, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Representative Men: Seven Lectures by Ralph Waldo Emerson exactly as it stands in the public-domain 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 1 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.
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Yes. All 2540 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6312 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6312, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 211 minutes of reading across 508 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Representative Men: Seven Lectures section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 Representative Men: Seven Lectures, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
