Chapter 3 of The Greater Inclination is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Greater Inclination is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I never said you had! How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?” “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me? Answer me that!” “How can you,” she wept, “before a stranger?”
Chapter 3 of The Greater Inclination is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
bring an accusation against; level a charge against
From this reading “How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?””
any person at all
From this reading ““Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?”
at or in or to any place
From this reading ““Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?”
(Arthurian legend) one of the knights of the Round Table; friend of King Arthur until (according to some versions of the legend) he became the lover of Arthur's wife Guinevere
From this reading “How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?””
teaching by giving a discourse on some subject (typically to a class)
From this reading ““Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?”
the activity of providing for or maintaining by supplying with money or necessities
From this reading ““Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?”
inflected form of “weep” — shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading ““How can you,” she wept, “before a stranger?””
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading “How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?””
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 “How can you,” she wept, “before a stranger?”
bring an accusation against; level a charge against
From this reading How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?”
react verbally
From this reading Answer me that!”
any person at all
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
at or in or to any place
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
earlier than; in front of
From this reading “How can you,” she wept, “before a stranger?”
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “I never said you had!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I never said you had!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
(Arthurian legend) one of the knights of the Round Table; friend of King Arthur until (according to some versions of the legend) he became the lover of Arthur's wife Guinevere
From this reading How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?”
immediately past
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
teaching by giving a discourse on some subject (typically to a class)
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading “I never said you had!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?”
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I never said you had!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “How can you,” she wept, “before a stranger?”
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading “How can you,” she wept, “before a stranger?”
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?”
the activity of providing for or maintaining by supplying with money or necessities
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
inflected form of “weep” — shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading “How can you,” she wept, “before a stranger?”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?”
a late time of life
From this reading “Have you never told anybody in this hotel--or anywhere else in the last ten years--that you were lecturing to support me?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I never said you had!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading How can you accuse your mother of such wickedness, Lancelot?”
Chapter 3 of The Greater Inclination by Edith Wharton holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 3 holds 414 sentences of The Greater Inclination, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Greater Inclination by Edith Wharton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 3 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 Greater Inclination by Edith Wharton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3378 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9190 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9190, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 281 minutes of reading across 676 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Greater Inclination section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Greater Inclination 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 Greater Inclination, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
