Chapter 8 of Stepsons of Light is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Stepsons of Light is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Hearsay evidence is no good in court. So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled. That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head." "As much as to say--" "Exactly. Someone killed Adam Forbes.
Chapter 8 of Stepsons of Light is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 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.
(Old Testament) in Judeo-Christian mythology; the first man and the husband of Eve and the progenitor of the human race
From this reading “Someone killed Adam Forbes.”
gossip (usually a mixture of truth and untruth) passed around by word of mouth
From this reading “"Hearsay evidence is no good in court.”
confused and vague; used especially of thinking
From this reading “So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.”
killed unlawfully
From this reading “So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.”
A prediction of what will happen in the future, often divinely or magically inspired.
From this reading “That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."”
cause friction
From this reading “That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."”
a person, without saying who
From this reading “Someone killed Adam Forbes.”
plural of “track” — a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading “So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.”
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 “So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.”
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.
(Old Testament) in Judeo-Christian mythology; the first man and the husband of Eve and the progenitor of the human race
From this reading Someone killed Adam Forbes.
(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 So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "As much as to say--" "Exactly.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading "Hearsay evidence is no good in court.
your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief
From this reading "Hearsay evidence is no good in court.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading "As much as to say--" "Exactly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Someone killed Adam Forbes.
the act of departing
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Hearsay evidence is no good in court.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
gossip (usually a mixture of truth and untruth) passed around by word of mouth
From this reading "Hearsay evidence is no good in court.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Hearsay evidence is no good in court.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Hearsay evidence is no good in court.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading Someone killed Adam Forbes.
engage in
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
to a great degree or extent
From this reading "As much as to say--" "Exactly.
confused and vague; used especially of thinking
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
killed unlawfully
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
not any; not one
From this reading "Hearsay evidence is no good in court.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
A prediction of what will happen in the future, often divinely or magically inspired.
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
predict or reveal through, or as if through, divine inspiration
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
express in words
From this reading "As much as to say--" "Exactly.
cause friction
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
a person, without saying who
From this reading Someone killed Adam Forbes.
utter obscenities or profanities
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
plural of “track” — a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
in the company of; together with
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
someone who sees an event and reports what happened
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
the act of creating written works
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
set down in writing in any of various ways
From this reading That written prophecy may not be evidence, but it will make the judge scratch his head."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading So I'm going to prophesy in writing--with you to witness and swear to the time of it--that all tracks this side of the murdered man are muddled.
Chapter 8 of Stepsons of Light by Eugene Manlove Rhodes holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 8 holds 424 sentences of Stepsons of Light, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Stepsons of Light by Eugene Manlove Rhodes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 8 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 Stepsons of Light by Eugene Manlove Rhodes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4688 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32704 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32704, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 390 minutes of reading across 938 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stepsons of Light section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Stepsons of Light 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 Stepsons of Light, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
