Chapter 22 of The Brotherhood of Consolation is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of The Brotherhood of Consolation is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Who? Halpersohn?” “Yes,” she said. “Why have you not been to see us? Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
Chapter 22 of The Brotherhood of Consolation is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading “Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.”
third-person singular of “assure” — make certain of
From this reading “Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.”
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.”
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading “Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.”
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading “Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.”
by chance
From this reading “Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.”
hairpiece covering the head and made of real or synthetic hair
From this reading “Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.”
an affirmative
From this reading ““Yes,” she said.”
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 Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
anew
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
third-person singular of “assure” — make certain of
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “Why have you not been to see us?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Halpersohn?”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Why have you not been to see us?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Why have you not been to see us?
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
by chance
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Yes,” she said.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “Why have you not been to see us?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Yes,” she said.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Why have you not been to see us?
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Why have you not been to see us?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
(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 Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
which person or people
From this reading “Who?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Why have you not been to see us?
hairpiece covering the head and made of real or synthetic hair
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Perhaps it was well you didn’t;” she added; “my hair came off; this that you see is a wig; but the doctor assures me it will grow again.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes,” she said.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Why have you not been to see us?
Chapter 22 of The Brotherhood of Consolation by Honoré de Balzac holds 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 123 sentences of The Brotherhood of Consolation, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of The Brotherhood of Consolation by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 The Brotherhood of Consolation by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3430 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1967 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1967, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 285 minutes of reading across 686 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Brotherhood of Consolation section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Brotherhood of Consolation 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 Brotherhood of Consolation, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
