Chapter 22 of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Seeing him laugh, she sprang on to his knee. “Well, you must do as you please! Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help. Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies. Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
Chapter 22 of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
at or in the front
From this reading “Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.”
give a benediction to
From this reading “Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.”
(theater) the space over the stage (out of view of the audience) used to store scenery (drop curtains)
From this reading “Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.”
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading “Seeing him laugh, she sprang on to his knee.”
feeling or showing love and affection
From this reading “Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.”
French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821)
From this reading “Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.”
Goods or treasure taken by force or theft, especially in war or banditry.
From this reading “Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.”
plural of “tax” — charge against a citizen's person or property or activity for the support of government
From this reading “Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?”
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.
at or in the front
From this reading Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Well, you must do as you please!
give a benediction to
From this reading Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.
the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
From this reading Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Well, you must do as you please!
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
(theater) the space over the stage (out of view of the audience) used to store scenery (drop curtains)
From this reading Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.
the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit
From this reading Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Seeing him laugh, she sprang on to his knee.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Seeing him laugh, she sprang on to his knee.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading Seeing him laugh, she sprang on to his knee.
the sound of laughing
From this reading Seeing him laugh, she sprang on to his knee.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.
feeling or showing love and affection
From this reading Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.
engage in
From this reading Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.
the force of workers available
From this reading Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “Well, you must do as you please!
French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821)
From this reading Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Seeing him laugh, she sprang on to his knee.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading “Well, you must do as you please!
Goods or treasure taken by force or theft, especially in war or banditry.
From this reading Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading Seeing him laugh, she sprang on to his knee.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Seeing him laugh, she sprang on to his knee.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Seeing him laugh, she sprang on to his knee.
plural of “tax” — charge against a citizen's person or property or activity for the support of government
From this reading Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Seeing him laugh, she sprang on to his knee.
(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 “Well, you must do as you please!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading Whether they pay taxes to you or to the Government, what difference does it make to them?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Bless me! plunder the men--go ahead, and I will help.
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading Men are not worth loving; Napoleon killed them off like flies.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Well, you must do as you please!
Chapter 22 of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honoré de Balzac holds 226 sentences, grouped into 46 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 22 holds 226 sentences of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 226 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 22 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 Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9211 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1660 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1660, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1843 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Scenes from a Courtesan's Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life 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 Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
