Chapter 6 of Something about Eve: A comedy of fig-leaves is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Something about Eve: A comedy of fig-leaves is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular. Then Merlin said: “I heard of all these things. They did not matter. I was happy. Yes, I suppose that I was happy.
Chapter 6 of Something about Eve: A comedy of fig-leaves is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.”
(Arthurian legend) the magician who acted as King Arthur's advisor
From this reading “Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.”
a person who requires medical care
From this reading “Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.”
a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading “Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.”
plural of “puppet” — a small figure of a person operated from above with strings by a puppeteer
From this reading “Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.”
any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading “Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.”
in a thoughtful manner
From this reading “Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.”
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.”
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.
In this reading “Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.”
In this reading “Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.”
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 Then Merlin said: “I heard of all these things.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading I was happy.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Then Merlin said: “I heard of all these things.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Then Merlin said: “I heard of all these things.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
for more time
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading They did not matter.
(Arthurian legend) the magician who acted as King Arthur's advisor
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Then Merlin said: “I heard of all these things.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
a person who requires medical care
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
participate in games or sport
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
plural of “puppet” — a small figure of a person operated from above with strings by a puppeteer
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Then Merlin said: “I heard of all these things.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
express a supposition
From this reading Yes, I suppose that I was happy.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Yes, I suppose that I was happy.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then Merlin said: “I heard of all these things.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Then Merlin said: “I heard of all these things.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They did not matter.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Then Merlin said: “I heard of all these things.
in a thoughtful manner
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was happy.
which person or people
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Now Merlin, the old poet who did not any longer delight to shape and to play with puppets, had paused: and he sat gazing thoughtfully, with wholly patient, tired eyes, at nothing in particular.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, I suppose that I was happy.
Chapter 6 of Something about Eve: A comedy of fig-leaves by James Branch Cabell holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 6 holds 415 sentences of Something about Eve: A comedy of fig-leaves, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Something about Eve: A comedy of fig-leaves by James Branch Cabell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
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