Chapter 2 of What Is Man? and Other Essays is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of What Is Man? and Other Essays is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Y.M. It’s an exasperating subject. The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from. O.M. It is a mistake. Adam’s thoughts came to him from the outside. _You_ have a fear of death.
Chapter 2 of What Is Man? and Other Essays is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O.M. It is a mistake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Adam’s thoughts came to him from the outside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Y.M. It’s an exasperating subject.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Adam’s thoughts came to him from the outside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _You_ have a fear of death.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Y.M. It’s an exasperating subject.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _You_ have a fear of death.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _You_ have a fear of death.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Adam’s thoughts came to him from the outside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O.M. It is a mistake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O.M. It is a mistake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Y.M. It’s an exasperating subject.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Y.M. It’s an exasperating subject.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O.M. It is a mistake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O.M. It is a mistake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _You_ have a fear of death.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Adam’s thoughts came to him from the outside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Y.M. It’s an exasperating subject.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _first_ man had original thoughts, anyway; there was nobody to draw from.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Y.M. It’s an exasperating subject.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _You_ have a fear of death.
Chapter 2 of What Is Man? and Other Essays by Mark Twain holds 140 sentences, grouped into 28 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 2 holds 140 sentences of What Is Man? and Other Essays, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of What Is Man? and Other Essays by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 2 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 What Is Man? and Other Essays by Mark Twain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5187 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #70, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 432 minutes of reading across 1038 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through What Is Man? and Other Essays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of What Is Man? and Other Essays 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 What Is Man? and Other Essays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
