Chapter 4 of The Cross and the Hammer is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Cross and the Hammer is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
JARL HAKON OF NORWAY. "Well enough," replied Vagn, "what is it?" "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door. To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you." "What shall we do?" whispered Vagn.
Chapter 4 of The Cross and the Hammer is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
strike against forcefully
From this reading “"I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.”
stick to firmly
From this reading “To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."”
unnecessary and unwarranted
From this reading “"I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.”
a constitutional monarchy in northern Europe on the western side of the Scandinavian Peninsula; achieved independence from Sweden in 1905
From this reading “JARL HAKON OF NORWAY.”
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading “To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."”
a source of difficulty
From this reading “"I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.”
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “"What shall we do?" whispered Vagn.”
used when the people spoken to are both doing and receiving the action
From this reading “To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."”
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.
thrust or extend out
In this reading “"I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.”
In this reading “"I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.”
In this reading “To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
strike against forcefully
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
stick to firmly
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "What shall we do?" whispered Vagn.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "Well enough," replied Vagn, "what is it?"
at any time
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JARL HAKON OF NORWAY.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Well enough," replied Vagn, "what is it?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Well enough," replied Vagn, "what is it?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JARL HAKON OF NORWAY.
come together
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
the force of workers available
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
unnecessary and unwarranted
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
a constitutional monarchy in northern Europe on the western side of the Scandinavian Peninsula; achieved independence from Sweden in 1905
From this reading JARL HAKON OF NORWAY.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading JARL HAKON OF NORWAY.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "Well enough," replied Vagn, "what is it?"
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "What shall we do?" whispered Vagn.
express a supposition
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
a source of difficulty
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well enough," replied Vagn, "what is it?"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
(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 "Well enough," replied Vagn, "what is it?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Well enough," replied Vagn, "what is it?"
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "What shall we do?" whispered Vagn.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I suppose you see that you cannot hold out for ever; but it would be needless trouble for my men to batter in the door.
used when the people spoken to are both doing and receiving the action
From this reading To-morrow we will meet Jarl Hakon, and if you give yourselves up in peace I will not bind you."
Chapter 4 of The Cross and the Hammer by H. (Henry) Bedford-Jones holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 4 holds 148 sentences of The Cross and the Hammer, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Cross and the Hammer by H. (Henry) Bedford-Jones exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 4 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 Cross and the Hammer by H. (Henry) Bedford-Jones 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 Cross and the Hammer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Cross and the Hammer 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 Cross and the Hammer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
