The Serf

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of The Serf is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Guy Thorne • Curated US English Learning Edition

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

"So when this corruptible shall have put on in corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality; then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is thy sting?

O grave, where is thy victory?"

Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.

He was in full panoply of war time.

Narrator

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.

Chapter XVII Reading 1/36

The Serf

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of The Serf is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/36 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

"So when this corruptible shall have put on in corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality; then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

/soʊ wen ðɪs kərˈʌptɪbəl ʃæl hæv pʊt ɑːn ɪn kərˈʌpʃən ənd ðɪs ˈmɔːrtəl ʃæl hæv pʊt ɑːn ˌɪmɔːrˈtælɪti ðen ʃæl biː brɔːt tuː pæs ðə ˈseɪɪŋ ðæt ɪz ˈrɪtən deθ ɪz ˈswɑːloʊd ʌp ɪn ˈvɪktəri/

Line 2

O death, where is thy sting?

/oʊ deθ wer ɪz ðaɪ stɪŋ/

Line 3

O grave, where is thy victory?"

/oʊ ɡreɪv wer ɪz ðaɪ ˈvɪktəri/

Line 4

Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.

Line 5

He was in full panoply of war time.

/hiː wɑːz ɪn fʊl ˈpænɑːpli ʌv wɔːr taɪm/

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.

battlements noun US /ˈbætəlmənts/

plural of “battlement” — a rampart built around the top of a castle with regular gaps for firing arrows or guns

From this reading “Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.”

corruptible adjective US /kərˈʌptɪbəl/

capable of being corrupted

From this reading “"So when this corruptible shall have put on in corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality; then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

corruption noun US /kərˈʌpʃən/

lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to bribery); use of a position of trust for dishonest gain

immortality noun US /ˌɪmɔːrˈtælɪti/

the quality or state of being immortal

mortal adjective US /ˈmɔːrtəl/

subject to death

panoply noun US /ˈpænɑːpli/

a complete and impressive array

From this reading “He was in full panoply of war time.”

sting verb US /stɪŋ/

cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort

From this reading “O death, where is thy sting?”

swallowed verb US /ˈswɑːloʊd/

past form of “swallow” — pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking

Word partnerships in these lines

English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.

Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.

sun rose noun + noun

any plant of the genus Helianthemum; vigorous plants of stony alpine meadows and dry scrub regions

In this reading “Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.”

swallowed up verb + adjective counted as “swallow up”

enclose or envelop completely, as if by swallowing

In this reading “"So when this corruptible shall have put on in corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality; then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

put on verb + particle

put clothing on one's body

went slowly verb + particle counted as “go slowly”

In this reading “Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.”

All words in this reading · 48

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.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading "So when this corruptible shall have put on in corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality; then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.

battlementsnounUS /ˈbætəlmənts/

plural of “battlement” — a rampart built around the top of a castle with regular gaps for firing arrows or guns

From this reading Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

broughtverbUS /brɔːt/

inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere

corruptibleadjectiveUS /kərˈʌptɪbəl/

capable of being corrupted

corruptionnounUS /kərˈʌpʃən/

lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to bribery); use of a position of trust for dishonest gain

DeathnounUS /deθ/

the event of dying or departure from life

fulladjectiveUS /fʊl/

containing as much or as many as is possible or normal

From this reading He was in full panoply of war time.

gravenounUS /ɡreɪv/

death of a person

From this reading O grave, where is thy victory?"

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He was in full panoply of war time.

Huber

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

From this reading Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.

immortalitynounUS /ˌɪmɔːrˈtælɪti/

the quality or state of being immortal

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

man-at-armsnoun

a heavily armed and mounted soldier in medieval times

From this reading Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.

mortaladjectiveUS /ˈmɔːrtəl/

subject to death

OnounUS /oʊ/

a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust

From this reading O death, where is thy sting?

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading He was in full panoply of war time.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

panoplynounUS /ˈpænɑːpli/

a complete and impressive array

From this reading He was in full panoply of war time.

passverbUS /pæs/

go across or through

putverbUS /pʊt/

put into a certain place or abstract location

rosenounUS /roʊz/

any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses

From this reading Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.

roundnounUS /raʊnd/

a charge of ammunition for a single shot

From this reading Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.

sayingnounUS /ˈseɪɪŋ/

a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations

shallmodal verbUS /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

slowlyadverbUS /ˈsloʊli/

without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)

From this reading Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.

SoconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

stingverbUS /stɪŋ/

cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort

From this reading O death, where is thy sting?

sunnounUS /sʌn/

the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system

From this reading Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.

swallowedverbUS /ˈswɑːloʊd/

past form of “swallow” — pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

thenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

thydeterminerUS /ðaɪ/

an old word for “your”, speaking to one person

From this reading O death, where is thy sting?

timenounUS /taɪm/

an instance or single occasion for some event

From this reading He was in full panoply of war time.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

upadjectiveUS /ʌp/

being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level

victorynounUS /ˈvɪktəri/

a successful ending of a struggle or contest

warnounUS /wɔːr/

the waging of armed conflict against an enemy

From this reading He was in full panoply of war time.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading He was in full panoply of war time.

wentverbUS /went/

inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

From this reading Huber, the man-at-arms, went slowly round the battlements as the sun rose.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading O death, where is thy sting?

writtenadjectiveUS /ˈrɪtən/

set down in writing in any of various ways

Chapter 17 of The Serf by Guy Thorne holds 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 17 of The Serf contain?

Chapter 17 holds 183 sentences of The Serf, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 17 of The Serf by Guy Thorne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 183 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.

How do I study chapter 17 of The Serf?

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.

Can chapter 17 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Serf

Common questions about reading The Serf by Guy Thorne on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Serf?

Yes. All 3706 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41829 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Serf is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #41829, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Serf take to read?

About 308 minutes of reading across 742 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Serf section by section

How to work through The Serf section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Serf to begin.
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Listen and tap

Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Serf

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Serf, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Serf; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Cause: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Serf; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Fenno: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Serf; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Company: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Serf; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter XVII

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Questions about reading The Serf

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