Chapter 4 of The Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Volume 4 is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Volume 4 is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Then rage shook Pierre from head to foot. He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie. The miracle was a lie! The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion! Nature alone had acted, life had conquered once again.
Chapter 4 of The Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Volume 4 is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
an early Christian church designed like a Roman basilica; or a Roman Catholic church or cathedral accorded certain privileges
From this reading “He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.”
doing good; feeling beneficent
From this reading “The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!”
past form of “conquer” — bring under control by force or authority
From this reading “Nature alone had acted, life had conquered once again.”
any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force
From this reading “The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!”
providing assistance or serving a useful function
From this reading “The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!”
an erroneous mental representation
From this reading “The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!”
any amazing or wonderful occurrence
From this reading “The miracle was a lie!”
past form of “tempt” — dispose or incline or entice to
From this reading “He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.”
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 The miracle was a lie!
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading Nature alone had acted, life had conquered once again.
anew
From this reading Nature alone had acted, life had conquered once again.
having unlimited power
From this reading The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!
Having no one else present.
From this reading Nature alone had acted, life had conquered once again.
using the voice; not silently
From this reading He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.
an early Christian church designed like a Roman basilica; or a Roman Catholic church or cathedral accorded certain privileges
From this reading He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.
doing good; feeling beneficent
From this reading The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!
past form of “conquer” — bring under control by force or authority
From this reading Nature alone had acted, life had conquered once again.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.
any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force
From this reading The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Then rage shook Pierre from head to foot.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Then rage shook Pierre from head to foot.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Nature alone had acted, life had conquered once again.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Then rage shook Pierre from head to foot.
providing assistance or serving a useful function
From this reading The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!
an erroneous mental representation
From this reading The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading The miracle was a lie!
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Nature alone had acted, life had conquered once again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.
any amazing or wonderful occurrence
From this reading The miracle was a lie!
to a great degree or extent
From this reading The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading Nature alone had acted, life had conquered once again.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!
on one occasion
From this reading Nature alone had acted, life had conquered once again.
capital of the state of South Dakota; located in central South Dakota on the Missouri river
From this reading Then rage shook Pierre from head to foot.
a feeling of intense anger
From this reading Then rage shook Pierre from head to foot.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Then rage shook Pierre from head to foot.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The helpful beneficence of an all-powerful Divinity was but so much illusion!
past form of “tempt” — dispose or incline or entice to
From this reading He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then rage shook Pierre from head to foot.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then rage shook Pierre from head to foot.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was tempted to return to the Basilica, and cry the truth aloud to Marie.
Chapter 4 of The Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Volume 4 by Émile Zola holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 4 holds 420 sentences of The Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Volume 4, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Volume 4 by Émile Zola exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 4 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 Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Volume 4 by Émile Zola on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1670 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8514 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8514, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 139 minutes of reading across 334 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Volume 4 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Volume 4 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 Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Volume 4, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
