Chapter 8 of The Talisman is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Talisman is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal. POPE'S ILLIAD. “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland. “Art thou sure this Scottish man is a tall man and true?” “I cannot say, my lord,” replied the jealous Borderer.
Chapter 8 of The Talisman is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
plural of “army” — a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading “A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.”
heal or recover
From this reading “A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.”
a nation's ruler or head of state usually by hereditary right
From this reading ““This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.”
possessive form of “pope” — the head of the Roman Catholic Church
From this reading “POPE'S ILLIAD.”
the dialect of English used in Scotland
From this reading ““Art thou sure this Scottish man is a tall man and true?””
having or showing or requiring special skill
From this reading “A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.”
a convict who is considered trustworthy and granted special privileges
From this reading ““This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.”
plural of “wound” — an injury to living tissue (especially an injury involving a cut or break in the skin)
From this reading “A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.”
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 A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Art thou sure this Scottish man is a tall man and true?”
plural of “army” — a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Art thou sure this Scottish man is a tall man and true?”
a nobleman (in various countries) of varying rank
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
an inhabitant of a border area (especially the border between Scotland and England)
From this reading “I cannot say, my lord,” replied the jealous Borderer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I cannot say, my lord,” replied the jealous Borderer.
belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
heal or recover
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I cannot say, my lord,” replied the jealous Borderer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading POPE'S ILLIAD.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another's advantages
From this reading “I cannot say, my lord,” replied the jealous Borderer.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading “I cannot say, my lord,” replied the jealous Borderer.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “Art thou sure this Scottish man is a tall man and true?”
a nation's ruler or head of state usually by hereditary right
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “I cannot say, my lord,” replied the jealous Borderer.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
possessive form of “pope” — the head of the Roman Catholic Church
From this reading POPE'S ILLIAD.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “I cannot say, my lord,” replied the jealous Borderer.
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
express in words
From this reading “I cannot say, my lord,” replied the jealous Borderer.
the dialect of English used in Scotland
From this reading “Art thou sure this Scottish man is a tall man and true?”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
term of address for a man
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
having or showing or requiring special skill
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading “Art thou sure this Scottish man is a tall man and true?”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading “Art thou sure this Scottish man is a tall man and true?”
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading “Art thou sure this Scottish man is a tall man and true?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading “Art thou sure this Scottish man is a tall man and true?”
a convict who is considered trustworthy and granted special privileges
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
a raised mark on the skin (as produced by the blow of a whip); characteristic of many allergic reactions
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
at the time that
From this reading “This is a strange tale, Sir Thomas,” said the sick monarch, when he had heard the report of the trusty Baron of Gilsland.
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
plural of “wound” — an injury to living tissue (especially an injury involving a cut or break in the skin)
From this reading A wise physician, skilled our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the common weal.
Chapter 8 of The Talisman by Walter Scott holds 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 8 holds 179 sentences of The Talisman, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Talisman by Walter Scott exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 8 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 Talisman by Walter Scott on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4130 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1377 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1377, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 344 minutes of reading across 826 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Talisman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Talisman 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 Talisman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
