Chapter 1 of The Fiend's Delight is here in full — 458 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Fiend's Delight is here in full — 458 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.” New York: 1873. THE AUTHOR. The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals. They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.
Chapter 1 of The Fiend's Delight is here in full — 458 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 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.
plural of “atrocity” — the quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane
From this reading “The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.”
a native or resident of California
From this reading “The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.”
-ing form of “constitute” — form or compose
From this reading “The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.”
coming down or downward
From this reading ““Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.””
past form of “enrich” — make better or improve in quality
From this reading “They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.”
plural of “journal” — a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading “The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.”
freely in a nonliteral manner
From this reading “They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.”
for the most part
From this reading “The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.”
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 New York: 1873.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
plural of “atrocity” — the quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading THE AUTHOR.
a native or resident of California
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
put or send forth
From this reading They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
a light informal meal
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
-ing form of “constitute” — form or compose
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
determine the number or amount of
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
coming down or downward
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
past form of “enrich” — make better or improve in quality
From this reading They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.
plural of “journal” — a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols
From this reading They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.
freely in a nonliteral manner
From this reading They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
for the most part
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading New York: 1873.
not any; not one
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE AUTHOR.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
nonsense that is simply incoherent and unintelligible
From this reading They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.
of many different kinds purposefully arranged but lacking any uniformity
From this reading The atrocities constituting this “cold collation” of diabolisms are taken mainly from various Californian journals.
plural of “view” — a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
belonging to which person
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading They are cast in the American language, and liberally enriched with unintelligibility.
Having or showing the qualities or abilities that merit recognition in character or magic.
From this reading “Count that day lost whose low descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading New York: 1873.
Chapter 1 of The Fiend's Delight by Ambrose Bierce holds 458 sentences, grouped into 92 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 458 sentences of The Fiend's Delight, unabridged, divided into 92 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Fiend's Delight by Ambrose Bierce exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 458 sentences, grouped into 92 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 92 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 92 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 Fiend's Delight by Ambrose Bierce on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1846 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4793 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4793, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 153 minutes of reading across 370 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fiend's Delight section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Fiend's Delight 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 Fiend's Delight, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
