Chapter 1 of The Countess of Escarbagnas is here in full — 687 sentences across 138 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Countess of Escarbagnas is here in full — 687 sentences across 138 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE COUNTESS OF ESCARBAGNAS. (LA COMTESSE D'ESCARBAGNAS.) Translated into English Prose. With Short Introductions and Explanatory Notes. 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
Chapter 1 of The Countess of Escarbagnas is here in full — 687 sentences across 138 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/137 · 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 “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading “'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.”
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading “'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.”
serving or intended to explain or make clear
From this reading “With Short Introductions and Explanatory Notes.”
plural of “introduction” — the act of beginning something new
From this reading “With Short Introductions and Explanatory Notes.”
the month following June and preceding August
From this reading “'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.”
ordinary writing as distinguished from verse
From this reading “Translated into English Prose.”
a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented
From this reading “'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.”
past form of “translate” — restate (words) from one language into another language
From this reading “Translated into English Prose.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With Short Introductions and Explanatory Notes.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading (LA COMTESSE D'ESCARBAGNAS.)
female equivalent of a count or earl
From this reading THE COUNTESS OF ESCARBAGNAS.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading (LA COMTESSE D'ESCARBAGNAS.)
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
From this reading Translated into English Prose.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE COUNTESS OF ESCARBAGNAS.
serving or intended to explain or make clear
From this reading With Short Introductions and Explanatory Notes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Translated into English Prose.
plural of “introduction” — the act of beginning something new
From this reading With Short Introductions and Explanatory Notes.
the month following June and preceding August
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading (LA COMTESSE D'ESCARBAGNAS.)
plural of “note” — a brief written record
From this reading With Short Introductions and Explanatory Notes.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE COUNTESS OF ESCARBAGNAS.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
ordinary writing as distinguished from verse
From this reading Translated into English Prose.
of or relating to or indicative of or issued or performed by a king or queen or other monarch
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading With Short Introductions and Explanatory Notes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE COUNTESS OF ESCARBAGNAS.
a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
past form of “translate” — restate (words) from one language into another language
From this reading Translated into English Prose.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' was acted before the Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on December 2, 1671, and in the theatre of the Palais Royal on July 8, 1672.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With Short Introductions and Explanatory Notes.
Chapter 1 of The Countess of Escarbagnas by Molière holds 687 sentences, grouped into 138 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 1 holds 687 sentences of The Countess of Escarbagnas, unabridged, divided into 138 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Countess of Escarbagnas by Molière exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 687 sentences, grouped into 138 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 138 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 138 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 1 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 Countess of Escarbagnas by Molière on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 687 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7451 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7451, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 57 minutes of reading across 138 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Countess of Escarbagnas section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Countess of Escarbagnas 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 Countess of Escarbagnas, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
