Chapter 38 of The New Machiavelli is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of The New Machiavelli is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless. We'd said all we had to say. My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper. I picked up this galley proof. It was one of Winter's essays.
Chapter 38 of The New Machiavelli is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.”
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading “My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.”
plural of “essay” — an analytic or interpretive literary composition
From this reading “It was one of Winter's essays.”
a large medieval vessel with a single deck propelled by sails and oars with guns at stern and prow; a complement of 1,000 men; used mainly in the Mediterranean for war and trading
From this reading “I picked up this galley proof.”
not in physical motion
From this reading “For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.”
past form of “print” — put into print
From this reading “My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.”
move stealthily
From this reading “My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.”
possessive form of “winter” — the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading “It was one of Winter's essays.”
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 For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
quickly and without warning
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading We'd said all we had to say.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
plural of “essay” — an analytic or interpretive literary composition
From this reading It was one of Winter's essays.
opinion or judgment
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
a large medieval vessel with a single deck propelled by sails and oars with guns at stern and prow; a complement of 1,000 men; used mainly in the Mediterranean for war and trading
From this reading I picked up this galley proof.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We'd said all we had to say.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
not in physical motion
From this reading For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was one of Winter's essays.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was one of Winter's essays.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading I picked up this galley proof.
past form of “print” — put into print
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
any factual evidence that helps to establish the truth of something
From this reading I picked up this galley proof.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading We'd said all we had to say.
express in words
From this reading We'd said all we had to say.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
move stealthily
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading I picked up this galley proof.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We'd said all we had to say.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I picked up this galley proof.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading My eyes caught a printed slip upon the desk before him, and I came back abruptly to the paper.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was one of Winter's essays.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading For a long time, as it seemed, we remained silent and motionless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We'd said all we had to say.
possessive form of “winter” — the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading It was one of Winter's essays.
Chapter 38 of The New Machiavelli by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells holds 184 sentences, grouped into 37 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 38 holds 184 sentences of The New Machiavelli, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of The New Machiavelli by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 184 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 38 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, a public-domain edition. 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.
