Chapter 25 of The Dynasts is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXV
Chapter 25 of The Dynasts is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SCENE VII THE SAME. THE ENGLISH POSITION [The din of battle continues. WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.] SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat. The crisis shapes and nears For Wellington as for his counter-chief.
Chapter 25 of The Dynasts is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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.
third-person singular of “continue” — continue a certain state, condition, or activity
From this reading “THE ENGLISH POSITION [The din of battle continues.”
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading “The crisis shapes and nears For Wellington as for his counter-chief.”
a loud harsh or strident noise
From this reading “THE ENGLISH POSITION [The din of battle continues.”
third-person singular of “near” — move towards
From this reading “The crisis shapes and nears For Wellington as for his counter-chief.”
(electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
From this reading “SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.”
gossip (usually a mixture of truth and untruth) passed around by word of mouth
From this reading “SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.”
plural of “shape” — any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading “The crisis shapes and nears For Wellington as for his counter-chief.”
British general and statesman; he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo; subsequently served as Prime Minister (1769-1852)
From this reading “WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]”
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 SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The crisis shapes and nears For Wellington as for his counter-chief.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading THE ENGLISH POSITION [The din of battle continues.
third-person singular of “continue” — continue a certain state, condition, or activity
From this reading THE ENGLISH POSITION [The din of battle continues.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The crisis shapes and nears For Wellington as for his counter-chief.
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading The crisis shapes and nears For Wellington as for his counter-chief.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
a loud harsh or strident noise
From this reading THE ENGLISH POSITION [The din of battle continues.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
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 THE ENGLISH POSITION [The din of battle continues.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The crisis shapes and nears For Wellington as for his counter-chief.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The crisis shapes and nears For Wellington as for his counter-chief.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
a particular point in time
From this reading SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
third-person singular of “near” — move towards
From this reading The crisis shapes and nears For Wellington as for his counter-chief.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE ENGLISH POSITION [The din of battle continues.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
as of footsteps
From this reading SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.
the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading THE ENGLISH POSITION [The din of battle continues.
(electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
From this reading SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.
gossip (usually a mixture of truth and untruth) passed around by word of mouth
From this reading SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.
Identical; not different.
From this reading SCENE VII THE SAME.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading SCENE VII THE SAME.
plural of “shape” — any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading The crisis shapes and nears For Wellington as for his counter-chief.
the vital principle or animating force within living things
From this reading SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading SCENE VII THE SAME.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading SCENE VII THE SAME.
British general and statesman; he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo; subsequently served as Prime Minister (1769-1852)
From this reading WELLINGTON, UXBRIDGE, HILL, DE LANCEY, GORDON, and others discovered near the middle of the line.]
at the time that
From this reading SPIRIT OF RUMOUR It is a moment when the steadiest pulse Thuds pit-a-pat.
Chapter 25 of The Dynasts by Thomas Hardy holds 372 sentences, grouped into 75 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 25 holds 372 sentences of The Dynasts, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 25 of The Dynasts by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 372 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 25 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 Dynasts by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9483 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4043 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4043, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1897 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dynasts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Dynasts 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 Dynasts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
