Chapter 11 of The Collection of Antiquities is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Collection of Antiquities is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Mme. la Duchesse! Mme. la Duchesse!” It was all that he could say, so overcome was he. He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained. “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
Chapter 11 of The Collection of Antiquities is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.”
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.”
past form of “dance” — move in a graceful and rhythmical way
From this reading “He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.”
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.”
win a victory over
From this reading “It was all that he could say, so overcome was he.”
past form of “refrain” — resist doing something
From this reading “He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.”
except for; apart from
From this reading ““Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.”
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading “He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.”
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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.
(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 It was all that he could say, so overcome was he.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading It was all that he could say, so overcome was he.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.
past form of “dance” — move in a graceful and rhythmical way
From this reading He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Mme. la Duchesse!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was all that he could say, so overcome was he.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was all that he could say, so overcome was he.
a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading “Mme. la Duchesse!
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Mme. la Duchesse!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.
win a victory over
From this reading It was all that he could say, so overcome was he.
past form of “refrain” — resist doing something
From this reading He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
except for; apart from
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
express in words
From this reading It was all that he could say, so overcome was he.
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading He cried, he could have danced; but he was afraid of losing his senses, and refrained.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It was all that he could say, so overcome was he.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was all that he could say, so overcome was he.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was all that he could say, so overcome was he.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “Between us, we will save him,” she said, as he left the room.
Chapter 11 of The Collection of Antiquities by Honoré de Balzac holds 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 11 holds 127 sentences of The Collection of Antiquities, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Collection of Antiquities by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 11 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 Collection of Antiquities by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2367 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1405 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1405, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 197 minutes of reading across 474 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Collection of Antiquities section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Collection of Antiquities 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 Collection of Antiquities, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
