Chapter 3 of The Inferno is here in full — 76 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Inferno is here in full — 76 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Night, absolute night. Shadows thick as velvet hung all around. Everything sank into darkness. I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp. I meant to work, but as a matter of fact I only listened.
Chapter 3 of The Inferno is here in full — 76 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
perfect or complete or pure
From this reading “Night, absolute night.”
hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading “I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.”
an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading “I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.”
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.”
set afire or burning
From this reading “I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.”
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading “Everything sank into darkness.”
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading “Shadows thick as velvet hung all around.”
a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back
From this reading “Shadows thick as velvet hung all around.”
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 I meant to work, but as a matter of fact I only listened.
perfect or complete or pure
From this reading Night, absolute night.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Shadows thick as velvet hung all around.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Shadows thick as velvet hung all around.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Shadows thick as velvet hung all around.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I meant to work, but as a matter of fact I only listened.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Everything sank into darkness.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Everything sank into darkness.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading I meant to work, but as a matter of fact I only listened.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading Shadows thick as velvet hung all around.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Everything sank into darkness.
an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
set afire or burning
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading I meant to work, but as a matter of fact I only listened.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading I meant to work, but as a matter of fact I only listened.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading I meant to work, but as a matter of fact I only listened.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Night, absolute night.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I meant to work, but as a matter of fact I only listened.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
and nothing more
From this reading I meant to work, but as a matter of fact I only listened.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading Everything sank into darkness.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading Shadows thick as velvet hung all around.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I sat down and leaned my elbow on the round table, lighted by the lamp.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading Shadows thick as velvet hung all around.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I meant to work, but as a matter of fact I only listened.
a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back
From this reading Shadows thick as velvet hung all around.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading I meant to work, but as a matter of fact I only listened.
Chapter 3 of The Inferno by Henri Barbusse holds 76 sentences, grouped into 16 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 76 sentences of The Inferno, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Inferno by Henri Barbusse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 76 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 Inferno by Henri Barbusse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3518 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12414 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12414, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 293 minutes of reading across 704 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Inferno section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Inferno 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 Inferno, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
