Chapter 1 of The House of Baltazar is here in full — 437 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The House of Baltazar is here in full — 437 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell. It is episodic. It obeys not the Unities of Time, Place and Action. The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man. The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.
Chapter 1 of The House of Baltazar is here in full — 437 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading “The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.”
highly skilled
From this reading “The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.”
possessing life
From this reading “The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.”
superlative of “easy” — posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading “THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.”
of writing or narration; divided into or composed of episodes
From this reading “It is episodic.”
third-person singular of “obey” — be obedient to
From this reading “It obeys not the Unities of Time, Place and Action.”
the quality of being united into one
From this reading “The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.”
an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting
From this reading “The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.”
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.
at this time
In this reading “The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.”
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.
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.
highly skilled
From this reading The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading It obeys not the Unities of Time, Place and Action.
possessing life
From this reading The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It obeys not the Unities of Time, Place and Action.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.
an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.
superlative of “easy” — posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.
of writing or narration; divided into or composed of episodes
From this reading It is episodic.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.
set up or found
From this reading The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is episodic.
in a healthy manner
From this reading The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.
a particular point in time
From this reading The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.
third-person singular of “obey” — be obedient to
From this reading It obeys not the Unities of Time, Place and Action.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.
the quality of being united into one
From this reading The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.
and nothing more
From this reading The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading It obeys not the Unities of Time, Place and Action.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading The fact of his being lustily alive at the present moment does not matter.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.
express in words
From this reading THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It obeys not the Unities of Time, Place and Action.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE early story of Baltazar is not the easiest one to tell.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It obeys not the Unities of Time, Place and Action.
an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting
From this reading The only unity to be found in it is the oneness of character in that absurd and accomplished man.
Chapter 1 of The House of Baltazar by William John Locke holds 437 sentences, grouped into 88 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 1 holds 437 sentences of The House of Baltazar, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The House of Baltazar by William John Locke exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 437 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 House of Baltazar by William John Locke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8115 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60120 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60120, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1623 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The House of Baltazar section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The House of Baltazar 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 House of Baltazar, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
