Chapter 14 of The Rough Road is here in full — 356 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Rough Road is here in full — 356 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour. To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened. In the depths of his heart he hated the life as much as ever. He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict. It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.
Chapter 14 of The Rough Road is here in full — 356 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/71 · 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 person serving a sentence in a jail or prison
From this reading “He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.”
a submissive mental attitude resulting from acceptance of the doctrine that everything that happens is predetermined and inevitable
From this reading “He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.”
not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
From this reading “It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.”
impossible to remedy or correct or redress
From this reading “It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.”
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading “It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.”
an unvarying or habitual method or procedure
From this reading “To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened.”
past form of “school” — educate in or as if in a school
From this reading “He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.”
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading “The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.”
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 He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading In the depths of his heart he hated the life as much as ever.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
the prevailing context that influences the performance or the outcome of a process
From this reading It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.
a person serving a sentence in a jail or prison
From this reading He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.
devoid of physical sensation; numb
From this reading To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened.
(plural) the deepest and most remote part
From this reading In the depths of his heart he hated the life as much as ever.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
at any time
From this reading In the depths of his heart he hated the life as much as ever.
a submissive mental attitude resulting from acceptance of the doctrine that everything that happens is predetermined and inevitable
From this reading He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.
(of animals) fully developed
From this reading To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
used of persons; emotionally hardened
From this reading To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened.
treated with dislike or contempt
From this reading In the depths of his heart he hated the life as much as ever.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading In the depths of his heart he hated the life as much as ever.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In the depths of his heart he hated the life as much as ever.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the depths of his heart he hated the life as much as ever.
not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
From this reading It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.
impossible to remedy or correct or redress
From this reading It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.
the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit
From this reading It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading In the depths of his heart he hated the life as much as ever.
of or relating to the study of the principles of warfare
From this reading To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened.
used to form the superlative
From this reading To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading In the depths of his heart he hated the life as much as ever.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
not any; not one
From this reading It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened.
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.
an unvarying or habitual method or procedure
From this reading To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened.
past form of “school” — educate in or as if in a school
From this reading He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
orally recite the letters of or give the spelling of
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The spell of night sentry duty had always been Doggie's black hour.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To most of the other military routine he had grown hardened or deadened.
the act of using
From this reading It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was no use railing at inexorable laws, irremediable conditions.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He had schooled himself to go through it with the dull fatalism of a convict.
Chapter 14 of The Rough Road by William John Locke holds 356 sentences, grouped into 72 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 14 holds 356 sentences of The Rough Road, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Rough Road by William John Locke exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 356 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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 14 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 Rough Road by William John Locke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7200 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27786 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27786, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1440 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rough Road section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Rough Road 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 Rough Road, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
