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The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner
The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner

Chapter XII

Chapter 12 of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner is here in full — 818 sentences across 164 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner
Context Illustration Reading 1/163 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
'AUT CÆSAR AUT NIHIL.'
CÆSAR BORGIA.
1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'
NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;
'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner

Chapter XII

Chapter 12 of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner is here in full — 818 sentences across 164 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/163 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
'AUT CÆSAR AUT NIHIL.'
Line 2
CÆSAR BORGIA.
Line 3
1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'
Line 4
NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;
Line 5
'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;

Learner Dictionary

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.

beast noun US /biːst/

a living organism characterized by voluntary movement

From this reading “1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
borgia noun US /ˈbɔːrdʒə/

Italian pope whose nepotism put the Borgia family in power in Italy (1378-1458)

From this reading “CÆSAR BORGIA.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
captains noun US /ˈkæptənz/

plural of “captain” — an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant

From this reading “'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
lieutenants noun US /luːˈtenənts/

plural of “lieutenant” — a commissioned military officer

From this reading “'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
machiavelli noun US /ˌmɑːkiəˈveli/

a statesman of Florence who advocated a strong central government (1469-1527)

From this reading “NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Principe noun US /prinˈtʃiːpi/

an island in the Gulf of Guinea that is part of Sao Tome and Principe

From this reading “NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Roman adjective US /ˈroʊmən/

relating to or characteristic of people of Rome

From this reading “NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
subjects noun US /ˈsʌbdʒɪkts/

plural of “subject” — the subject matter of a conversation or discussion

From this reading “'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

All words in this reading · 45

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.

1500

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'

Pending verification
1503

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'

Pending verification
AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading 1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading 1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
AUT

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'AUT CÆSAR AUT NIHIL.'

Pending verification
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading 1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
beastnounUS /biːst/

a living organism characterized by voluntary movement

From this reading 1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
BORGIAnounUS /ˈbɔːrdʒə/

Italian pope whose nepotism put the Borgia family in power in Italy (1378-1458)

From this reading CÆSAR BORGIA.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
Captain-General

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

Pending verification
captainsnounUS /ˈkæptənz/

plural of “captain” — an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant

From this reading 'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
castellans

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;

Pending verification
ChurchnounUS /tʃɜːrtʃ/

one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
condottieri

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;

Pending verification
CÆSAR

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'AUT CÆSAR AUT NIHIL.'

Pending verification
DukenounUS /duːk/

a British peer of the highest rank

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
FrancenounUS /fræns/

a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
GodnounUS /ɡɑːd/

the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Gonfaloniere

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

Pending verification
GracenounUS /ɡreɪs/

(Christian theology) a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
HolynounUS /ˈhoʊli/

a sacred place of pilgrimage

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
IlnounUS /ɪl/

a midwestern state in north-central United States

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
lieutenantsnounUS /luːˈtenənts/

plural of “lieutenant” — a commissioned military officer

From this reading 'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
LordnounUS /lɔːrd/

terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
MACHIAVELLInounUS /ˌmɑːkiəˈveli/

a statesman of Florence who advocated a strong central government (1469-1527)

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mannounUS /mæn/

an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

From this reading 1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading 1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
NICCOLÒ

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

Pending verification
NIHILnoun

(Latin) nil; nothing (as used by a sheriff after an unsuccessful effort to serve a writ)

From this reading 'AUT CÆSAR AUT NIHIL.'

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
officersnounUS /ˈɔːfəsərz/

plural of “officer” — any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command

From this reading 'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading 'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
Piombino

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

Pending verification
princenounUS /prɪns/

a male member of a royal family other than the sovereign (especially the son of a sovereign)

From this reading 1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
PrincipenounUS /prinˈtʃiːpi/

an island in the Gulf of Guinea that is part of Sao Tome and Principe

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Romagna

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

Pending verification
RomanadjectiveUS /ˈroʊmən/

relating to or characteristic of people of Rome

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
subjectsnounUS /ˈsʌbdʒɪkts/

plural of “subject” — the subject matter of a conversation or discussion

From this reading 'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ToparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading 'To all our lieutenants, castellans, captains, condottieri, officers, and subjects;

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI.--_Il Principe._ I 'We, Cæsar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God, Duke of Romagna, Lord of Piombino, Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church, and Captain-General;

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
welladverbUS /wel/

(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)

From this reading 1500-1503 'A prince must be a beast as well as a man.'

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Chapter 12 of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner by Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky holds 818 sentences, grouped into 164 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.

What does chapter 12 of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner contain?

Chapter 12 holds 818 sentences of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner, unabridged, divided into 164 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 12 of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner by Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 818 sentences, grouped into 164 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.

How do I study chapter 12 of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner?

Work through the 164 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 164 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.

Can chapter 12 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 12 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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Common questions about reading The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner by Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner?

Yes. All 9361 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47902 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #47902, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 1873 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

White
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
She-devil--
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Siena
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Discovered
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, the Forerunner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.