Chapter 40 of The Man in the Iron Mask is here in full — 722 sentences across 145 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter 40 of The Man in the Iron Mask is here in full — 722 sentences across 145 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Duc de Beaufort wrote to Athos. The letter destined for the living only reached the dead. God had changed the address. “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph. The king loses one of the bravest of soldiers.
Chapter 40 of The Man in the Iron Mask is here in full — 722 sentences across 145 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/144 · 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.
speak to
From this reading “God had changed the address.”
in the middle of; surrounded by
From this reading ““MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.”
superlative of “brave” — possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading “The king loses one of the bravest of soldiers.”
headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”
From this reading “The letter destined for the living only reached the dead.”
third-person singular of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “The king loses one of the bravest of soldiers.”
unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event
From this reading ““MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.”
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading “The king loses one of the bravest of soldiers.”
a successful ending of a struggle or contest
From this reading ““MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.”
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 “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
speak to
From this reading God had changed the address.
in the middle of; surrounded by
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
an autonomous area in northeastern Greece that is the site of several Greek Orthodox monasteries founded in the tenth century
From this reading The Duc de Beaufort wrote to Athos.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Duc de Beaufort wrote to Athos.
superlative of “brave” — possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading The king loses one of the bravest of soldiers.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading God had changed the address.
French philosopher remembered as the founder of positivism; he also established sociology as a systematic field of study
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading The Duc de Beaufort wrote to Athos.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading The letter destined for the living only reached the dead.
dearly loved
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”
From this reading The letter destined for the living only reached the dead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Duc de Beaufort wrote to Athos.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The letter destined for the living only reached the dead.
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading God had changed the address.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading God had changed the address.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading The king loses one of the bravest of soldiers.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading The letter destined for the living only reached the dead.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading The letter destined for the living only reached the dead.
third-person singular of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading The king loses one of the bravest of soldiers.
unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The king loses one of the bravest of soldiers.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The king loses one of the bravest of soldiers.
and nothing more
From this reading The letter destined for the living only reached the dead.
a male member of a royal family other than the sovereign (especially the son of a sovereign)
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading The letter destined for the living only reached the dead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading The king loses one of the bravest of soldiers.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Duc de Beaufort wrote to Athos.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The Duc de Beaufort wrote to Athos.
a successful ending of a struggle or contest
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “MY DEAR COMTE,” wrote the prince, in his large, school-boy’s hand,--“a great misfortune has struck us amidst a great triumph.
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading The Duc de Beaufort wrote to Athos.
Chapter 40 of The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas holds 722 sentences, grouped into 145 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 40 holds 722 sentences of The Man in the Iron Mask, unabridged, divided into 145 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 722 sentences, grouped into 145 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 145 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 145 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 40 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.
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Yes. All 10150 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2759 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2759, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2030 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Man in the Iron Mask section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 Man in the Iron Mask, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
