Chapter 23 of The Red Lily — Complete is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Red Lily — Complete is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied. She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility. But he remained sombre. He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness. He had found reasons for suffering.
Chapter 23 of The Red Lily — Complete is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
draw someone's attention away from something
From this reading “She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.”
a disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride
From this reading “She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.”
close or warm friendship
From this reading “She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.”
lacking natural ease
From this reading “He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness.”
large and often sumptuous tent
From this reading “The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.”
deeply absorbed in thought
From this reading “The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.”
of surpassing excellence
From this reading “She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.”
by way of; passing through
From this reading “The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
(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 He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness.
characterized by intense emotion
From this reading She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But he remained sombre.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
draw someone's attention away from something
From this reading She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He had found reasons for suffering.
set up or found
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But he remained sombre.
not accessible to view
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness.
a disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride
From this reading She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
close or warm friendship
From this reading She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.
lacking natural ease
From this reading He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
above and across; more than
From this reading He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness.
large and often sumptuous tent
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
deeply absorbed in thought
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure
From this reading She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.
plural of “reason” — a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading He had found reasons for suffering.
generally approved or compelling recognition
From this reading He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading But he remained sombre.
emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being
From this reading He had all night meditated, labored over, and recognized his sadness.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
lacking brightness or color; dull
From this reading But he remained sombre.
a state of acute pain
From this reading He had found reasons for suffering.
of surpassing excellence
From this reading She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.
the taste experience when sugar dissolves in the mouth
From this reading She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.
by way of; passing through
From this reading The next day, in the hidden pavilion of the Via Alfieri, she found him preoccupied.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She tried to distract him with ardent gayety, with the sweetness of pressing intimacy, with superb humility.
Chapter 23 of The Red Lily — Complete by Anatole France holds 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 23 holds 159 sentences of The Red Lily — Complete, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Red Lily — Complete by Anatole France exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 23 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 Red Lily — Complete by Anatole France on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5648 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3922 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3922, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 470 minutes of reading across 1130 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Red Lily — Complete section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Red Lily — Complete 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 Red Lily — Complete, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
