Chapter 40 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 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 Who Laughs is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
INFERI. There are two ways of making a footing at court. In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful. In the first case, you belong to Olympus. In the second case, you belong to the private closet.
Chapter 40 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading “In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.”
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “In the first case, you belong to Olympus.”
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading “In the second case, you belong to the private closet.”
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading “In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.”
status with respect to the relations between people or groups
From this reading “There are two ways of making a footing at court.”
water soaked soil; soft wet earth
From this reading “In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.”
a mountain peak in northeast Greece near the Aegean coast; believed by ancient Greeks to be the dwelling place of the gods (9,570 feet high)
From this reading “In the first case, you belong to Olympus.”
having great power or force or potency or effect
From this reading “In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.”
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 There are two ways of making a footing at court.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There are two ways of making a footing at court.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading There are two ways of making a footing at court.
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading In the first case, you belong to Olympus.
an occurrence of something
From this reading In the first case, you belong to Olympus.
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading In the second case, you belong to the private closet.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading There are two ways of making a footing at court.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading In the first case, you belong to Olympus.
status with respect to the relations between people or groups
From this reading There are two ways of making a footing at court.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading INFERI.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading There are two ways of making a footing at court.
water soaked soil; soft wet earth
From this reading In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There are two ways of making a footing at court.
a mountain peak in northeast Greece near the Aegean coast; believed by ancient Greeks to be the dwelling place of the gods (9,570 feet high)
From this reading In the first case, you belong to Olympus.
having great power or force or potency or effect
From this reading In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.
confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy
From this reading In the second case, you belong to the private closet.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading In the second case, you belong to the private closet.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There are two ways of making a footing at court.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In the first case, you belong to Olympus.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading There are two ways of making a footing at court.
structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
From this reading There are two ways of making a footing at court.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading In the clouds, and you are august; in the mud, and you are powerful.
Chapter 40 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo holds 55 sentences, grouped into 11 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 55 sentences of The Man Who Laughs, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 55 sentences, grouped into 11 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 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 11 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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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Man Who Laughs 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 Who Laughs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
