It is an historical fact that only in conditions of profound

profound societal instability is the necessary condition for great works of literature.
a)first century B.C. satisfies the condition hence IMO A.
b) we do not know anything about comparative superiority.
We do not know anything about when "no great works of literature were produced" (C)
and "decreased literary production in Rome" (E). What we know is just when great works can be produced and not when they cannot be produced.
D is irrelevant

IMO the correct answer should be C.

Explanation:

If all of the statements in the passage are true, then which of the following must also be true?

a. During the first century B.C., great works of literature were produced in Rome.[Incorrect]
No where in the question stem has it been mentioned that during all unstable times great work in literature has to be produced. The fact is that great works are produced during unstable times but doesn't have to happen compulsarily.Hence, can't be assumed.

b. Roman art of the first century B.C. was superior to Roman art of the second century A.D.[Incorrect]
Nowhere is the comparison of arts mentioned. Don't assume and don't draw interpretations.

c. During the second century A.D., no great works of literature were produced in Rome.
A ==> B ==> C hence A==>C....quite clear

d. Historically, great works of literature can stir emotions that find their expression in political action. [Incorrect]
Again interpretations are drawn and new entity is being discussed 'politics'

e. The first century A.D. was a time of decreased literary production in Rome.[Incorrect]
This negates the fact. Hence, this is not logically correct anyways.

"Only in great instability are great works of literature produced."

If there is a great work of Lit, it must have been produced during extreme instability.

Reverse may not be true;
If there is great instability, then great works must be created.

If Rome experienced profound instability during all odd centuries, 1st century, 3rd century, 5th, 7th, 9th...
And it was prosperous and stable during even centuries: 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th...

There are two 2 great epics/works. These two epics must have been produced during odd centuries. Maybe 5th and 7th. But, there is no guarantee that whenever there was instability, great artwork was created, OR we'd have had at least 10 works till date.

Also when it is said that the great artwork is created ONLY during bad periods, it is equivalent to saying great artwork is NEVER created during good periods. And we know 2nd century was a period of stability for Rome.

Ans: "C"

If P only then Q is possible => If Not P then Not Q which is (C), answer

A) is if P then Q as a rule which isnt so.

I thought it was A at first too, but the first statement was ONLY in times of instability. A assumes that in ALL times of instability, where as C states that in times of peace, good literature cannot take place. which agrees with that first statement.

ONLY vs ALL would have changed this question entirely, hope this helps

It is an historical fact that only in conditions of profound societal instability are great works of literature produced. During the first century B.C., Rome experienced almost constant civil war accompanied by social upheaval. It wasn't until the ascension of Nerva to the throne in 96 A.D. that the situation stabilized. Throughout the second century A.D., Rome experienced a century of uninterrupted peace and stability.

If all of the statements in the passage are true, then which of the following must also be true?

a. During the first century B.C., great works of literature were produced in Rome.
b. Roman art of the first century B.C. was superior to Roman art of the second century A.D.
c. During the second century A.D., no great works of literature were produced in Rome.
d. Historically, great works of literature can stir emotions that find their expression in political action.
e. The first century A.D. was a time of decreased literary production in Rome.[/quote]

"Only in great instability are great works of literature produced."

If there is a great work of Lit, it must have been produced during extreme instability.

Reverse may not be true;
If there is great instability, then great works must be created.

If Rome experienced profound instability during all odd centuries, 1st century, 3rd century, 5th, 7th, 9th...
And it was prosperous and stable during even centuries: 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th...

There are two 2 great epics/works. These two epics must have been produced during odd centuries. Maybe 5th and 7th. But, there is no guarantee that whenever there was instability, great artwork was created, OR we'd have had at least 10 works till date.

Also when it is said that the great artwork is created ONLY during bad periods, it is equivalent to saying great artwork is NEVER created during good periods. And we know 2nd century was a period of stability for Rome.

Ans: "C"

It is an historical fact that only in conditions of profound societal instability are great works of literature produced. During the first century B.C., Rome experienced almost constant civil war accompanied by social upheaval. It wasn't until the ascension of Nerva to the throne in 96 A.D. that the situation stabilized. Throughout the second century A.D., Rome experienced a century of uninterrupted peace and stability.

If all of the statements in the passage are true, then which of the following must also be true?

a. During the first century B.C., great works of literature were produced in Rome. Not necessarily, the passage states that great works of literature are only produced in times of instability, that doesn't mean that each time of instability great works MUST be produced.
b. Roman art of the first century B.C. was superior to Roman art of the second century A.D. Nothing in the passage implies that, they might be both great since they were produced in a time of instability, but which one is superior?! no one knows.
c. During the second century A.D., no great works of literature were produced in Rome. Correct. The second century was a time of stability as mentioned in the passage, and since geat works of literature are ONLY produced in times of instability, no great works could have been produced in the second century
d. Historically, great works of literature can stir emotions that find their expression in political action.Out of scope
e. The first century A.D. was a time of decreased literary production in Rome.No evidence in the passage would support this.

+1 C

The argument doesn't mention that ALWAYS there will be excelent literature when there is polytical inestability.
It just mentions that this literature only appear in those conditions.

IMO, C is correct.

First of all, this is MUST BE TRUE question, any option that maybe true is wrong.

ANALYZE THE PREMISE:
Only in conditions of profound societal instability are great works of literature produced
During the first century B.C., Rome experienced a societal instability
After the ascension of Nerva to the throne in 96 A.D, Rome experienced a societal stability

ANALYZE EACH OPTION:

a. During the first century B.C., great works of literature were produced in Rome.
Wrong. Very tempting but wrong. Great works were produced only in societal instability. This is necessary condition. "A happens only if B happens" does not mean "any time B happens, A must happen".

b. Roman art of the first century B.C. was superior to Roman art of the second century A.D.
Wrong. Out of scope

c. During the second century A.D., no great works of literature were produced in Rome.
Correct. This is MUST BE TRUE option. Logic:"A happens only if B happens" ==> if No B, A will not happen for sure.

d. Historically, great works of literature can stir emotions that find their expression in political action.
Wrong. Out of scope

e. The first century A.D. was a time of decreased literary production in Rome.
Wrong. Out of scope.

Hope it helps.

This question is of the type :

Only if A, then B.

A: in situations of profound societal instability

B : great works of literature produced.

As per the argument we know that there was stability throughout the 2nd century BC. Thus, it means we have not A, which would imply not B. This is clearly stated in C. Hence, the answer

Let's focus on the two candidates: Options A and C.

The text says that "only in situations of profound societal instability are great works of literature produced".

A) During the first century B.C., great works of literature were produced in Rome.

On the first century B.C., we know that there was societal instability. This is a necessary condition for the production of great works of literature, but it does not guarantee that great works of literature will be produced.

That condition, however, does guarantee that without societal instability, as in the second century A.D., great works of literature cannot be produced. Hence, option C is the correct answer.

C) During the second century A.D., no great works of literature were produced in Rome.

Could you please give your view on my resolution of the problem?

C is the correct answer.
Premise : Great works are produced only in case of societal instability.
Premise : During first half of the century, Rome experienced civil was accompanied by social upheaval. Hence societal instability is not the only reason.
Also the premise does not mentions anything regarding great literature that were produced in rome during first half of the century.
Hence the answer C.

Can anyone else please give their view on the reasoning described above?

Nayanparikh, your reasoning does not make sense.

Yes, that's the correct reasoning behind eliminating the option. Just because there was a societal instability does not imply great literature works were written. With the same conditional reasoning we can imply that since there was peace in 2nd century, clearly there wasnt any great work done in literature.

C is the correct answer.

This is definitely a 700 level question.
Options A and C felt like contenders. But upon further examination:
A) Word 'only' holds a lot of importance in the passage.
Though great works of art can 'only' be written during times of instability, it does not mean that they were 'definitely' written during that specific time in Roman history, as suggested by the choice A.
C) In choice C use principle of Contrapositive. GWA---->Instability
No Instability ----> No GWA
Instability - Necessary condition
Great Work of Art - Sufficient condition

Hence I feel C is correct.

Its a typical LSAT question requiring the knowledge of sufficient and necessary conditional reasoning. Great work(GW) is sufficient condition and Societal instability(SI) is necessary condition leading to following conditional reasoning
GW->SI
Taking contrapositive. No SI->No GW.

Only option C satisfy the required conditions.

t is an historical fact that only in conditions of profound societal instability are great works of literature produced. During the first century B.C., Rome experienced almost constant civil war accompanied by social upheaval. It wasn't until the ascension of Nerva to the throne in 96 A.D. that the situation stabilized. Throughout the second century A.D., Rome experienced a century of uninterrupted peace and stability.

Between A and C, A will be incorrect as the answer choice says "During the 1st Century"....the last 4 years after the ascension of Nerva were years of social stability.