Chapter 16 of The Alchemist is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Alchemist is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SAD(NESS), sober, serious(ness). SAFFI, bailiffs. ST. THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed. SAKER, small piece of ordnance.
Chapter 16 of The Alchemist is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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 “bailiff” — an officer of the court who is employed to execute writs and processes and make arrests etc.
From this reading “SAFFI, bailiffs.”
plural of “criminal” — someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
From this reading “THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.”
put to death as punishment
From this reading “THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.”
a strip of land projecting into a body of water
From this reading “SAD(NESS), sober, serious(ness).”
military supplies
From this reading “SAKER, small piece of ordnance.”
not affected by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading “SAD(NESS), sober, serious(ness).”
a county in southeastern England on the Thames
From this reading “THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.”
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading “THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.”
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 “SAKER, small piece of ordnance.”
In this reading “SAKER, small piece of ordnance.”
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 THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.
plural of “bailiff” — an officer of the court who is employed to execute writs and processes and make arrests etc.
From this reading SAFFI, bailiffs.
plural of “criminal” — someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
From this reading THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.
put to death as punishment
From this reading THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.
a strip of land projecting into a body of water
From this reading SAD(NESS), sober, serious(ness).
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading SAKER, small piece of ordnance.
military supplies
From this reading SAKER, small piece of ordnance.
a separate part of a whole
From this reading SAKER, small piece of ordnance.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading SAD(NESS), sober, serious(ness).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SAFFI, bailiffs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SAKER, small piece of ordnance.
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading SAD(NESS), sober, serious(ness).
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading SAKER, small piece of ordnance.
not affected by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading SAD(NESS), sober, serious(ness).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ST.
a county in southeastern England on the Thames
From this reading THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.
in or at the place that
From this reading THOMAS A WATERINGS, place in Surrey where criminals were executed.
Chapter 16 of The Alchemist by Ben Jonson holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 16 holds 399 sentences of The Alchemist, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Alchemist by Ben Jonson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 16 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 The Alchemist by Ben Jonson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Alchemist section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Alchemist 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 The Alchemist, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
