Chapter 8 of The Firm of Nucingen is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Firm of Nucingen is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank. Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him. He shuddered in spite of himself. “‘Things are looking bad. There is a crisis on hand.
Chapter 8 of The Firm of Nucingen is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
inflected form of “behold” — see with attention
From this reading “Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.”
the stock exchange in Paris
From this reading ““In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.”
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading “There is a crisis on hand.”
plural of “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes
From this reading ““In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.”
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
From this reading “Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.”
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading “Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.”
past form of “shudder” — shake, as from cold
From this reading “He shuddered in spite of himself.”
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading “Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.”
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 “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “‘Things are looking bad.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “‘Things are looking bad.
sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water)
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
inflected form of “behold” — see with attention
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
the stock exchange in Paris
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading There is a crisis on hand.
plural of “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading There is a crisis on hand.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He shuddered in spite of himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
ten 10s
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is a crisis on hand.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading “‘Things are looking bad.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading There is a crisis on hand.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
one of four equal parts
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
past form of “shudder” — shake, as from cold
From this reading He shuddered in spite of himself.
feeling a need to see others suffer
From this reading He shuddered in spite of himself.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is a crisis on hand.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading “‘Things are looking bad.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
which person or people
From this reading “In a corner of the Bourse he came upon poor Matifat, who had three hundred thousand francs in Nucingen’s bank.
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading Matifat, ghastly and haggard, beheld the terrible Gigonnet, the bill-discounter of his old quarter, coming up to worry him.
Chapter 8 of The Firm of Nucingen by Honoré de Balzac holds 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 8 holds 137 sentences of The Firm of Nucingen, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Firm of Nucingen by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 8 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 Firm of Nucingen by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1244 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1294 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1294, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 103 minutes of reading across 249 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Firm of Nucingen section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Firm of Nucingen 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 Firm of Nucingen, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
