Chapter 17 of The New Machiavelli is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The New Machiavelli is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I stopped blankly. “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made. I had never in any tolerable sense of the word been dirty. “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again. She was looking at me with her wide blue eyes.
Chapter 17 of The New Machiavelli is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading “I stopped blankly.”
the person or thing chosen or selected
From this reading ““Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.”
soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
From this reading ““Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.”
past form of “drift” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading ““I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.”
insanely irresponsible
From this reading ““Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading ““I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.”
capable of being borne or endured
From this reading “I had never in any tolerable sense of the word been dirty.”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “She was looking at me with her wide blue eyes.”
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 drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
later than; following
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
anew
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading I had never in any tolerable sense of the word been dirty.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She was looking at me with her wide blue eyes.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I had never in any tolerable sense of the word been dirty.
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading I stopped blankly.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading She was looking at me with her wide blue eyes.
the person or thing chosen or selected
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
past form of “drift” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
opinion or judgment
From this reading She was looking at me with her wide blue eyes.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had never in any tolerable sense of the word been dirty.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She was looking at me with her wide blue eyes.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I stopped blankly.
insanely irresponsible
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I had never in any tolerable sense of the word been dirty.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading She was looking at me with her wide blue eyes.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She was looking at me with her wide blue eyes.
the force of workers available
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
used to form the superlative
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I had never in any tolerable sense of the word been dirty.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading I had never in any tolerable sense of the word been dirty.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was looking at me with her wide blue eyes.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading I stopped blankly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “I drifted into this--as men do,” I said after a little pause and stopped again.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
capable of being borne or endured
From this reading I had never in any tolerable sense of the word been dirty.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading She was looking at me with her wide blue eyes.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She was looking at me with her wide blue eyes.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading I had never in any tolerable sense of the word been dirty.
the words that are spoken
From this reading “Dirty,” I thought, was the most idiotic choice of words to have made.
Chapter 17 of The New Machiavelli by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells holds 193 sentences, grouped into 39 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 17 holds 193 sentences of The New Machiavelli, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The New Machiavelli by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 193 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 17 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 New Machiavelli by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7161 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1047 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1047, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 596 minutes of reading across 1433 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The New Machiavelli section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of The New Machiavelli 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 New Machiavelli, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
