Chapter 12 of The Inferno is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Inferno is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The man was lying in bed. They moved about him carefully. He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts. That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest. "Yes--no," he said.
Chapter 12 of The Inferno is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
taking care or paying attention
From this reading “They moved about him carefully.”
take in liquids
From this reading “He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.”
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading “He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.”
an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading “That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.”
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading “The man was lying in bed.”
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading “That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.”
move hurridly
From this reading “He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.”
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 He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading They moved about him carefully.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading The man was lying in bed.
taking care or paying attention
From this reading They moved about him carefully.
take in liquids
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They moved about him carefully.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The man was lying in bed.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading The man was lying in bed.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man was lying in bed.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading They moved about him carefully.
not any; not one
From this reading "Yes--no," he said.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
move hurridly
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
cause to go somewhere
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The man was lying in bed.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They moved about him carefully.
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The man was lying in bed.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading That morning they had seen him fold his hands, and they had asked him whether he wanted them to send for a priest.
the words that are spoken
From this reading He stirred faintly, said a few words, asked for a drink, smiled and then became silent under the rush of thoughts.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes--no," he said.
Chapter 12 of The Inferno by Henri Barbusse holds 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 12 holds 271 sentences of The Inferno, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Inferno by Henri Barbusse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 12 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.
