Chapter 15 of The Muse of the Department is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Muse of the Department is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Yes.” “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature. “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?” “Yes, my beautiful, my generous Didine.” “Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.”
Chapter 15 of The Muse of the Department is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading ““Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.”
past form of “delude” — be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading ““Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.”
separate into parts or portions
From this reading ““Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.””
willing to give and share unstintingly
From this reading ““Yes, my beautiful, my generous Didine.””
a single distinct event
From this reading ““I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?””
being nothing more than specified
From this reading ““I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?””
a person who is owned by someone
From this reading ““Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.”
utter obscenities or profanities
From this reading ““Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.””
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 did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading “Yes, my beautiful, my generous Didine.”
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading “Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.”
past form of “delude” — be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes, my beautiful, my generous Didine.”
separate into parts or portions
From this reading “Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.”
willing to give and share unstintingly
From this reading “Yes, my beautiful, my generous Didine.”
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
a single distinct event
From this reading “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.”
being nothing more than specified
From this reading “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
and nothing more
From this reading “Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.”
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.”
a person who is owned by someone
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
utter obscenities or profanities
From this reading “Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.”
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.”
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Swear to me,” said she, “that only death shall divide us.”
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading “I did not believe I could love you more than I did!--Now I shall not be a mere incident, but your whole life?”
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Oh, I will be more than your wife--I am your slave, I give you my life,” said the poor deluded creature.
Chapter 15 of The Muse of the Department by Honoré de Balzac holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 15 holds 148 sentences of The Muse of the Department, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Muse of the Department by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 15 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 Muse of the Department by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2711 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1912 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1912, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 225 minutes of reading across 543 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Muse of the Department section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Muse of the Department 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 Muse of the Department, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
