While the best sixteenth-century Renaissance scholars mastered the cla

Question

While the best sixteenth-century Renaissance scholars mastered the classics of ancient Roman literature in the original Latin and understood them in their original historical context, most of the scholars’ educated contemporaries knew the classics only from school lessons on selected Latin texts. These were chosen by Renaissance teachers afer much deliberation, for works written by and for the sophisticated adults of pagan Rome were not always considered suitable for the Renaissance young: the central Roman classics refused (as classics ofen do) to teach appropriate morality and frequently suggested the opposite. Teachers accordingly made students’ needs, not textual and historical accuracy, their supreme interest, chopping dangerous texts into short phrases, and using these to impart lessons extemporaneously on a variety of subjects, from syntax to science. Tus, I believe that a modern reader cannot know the associations that a line of ancient Roman poetry or prose had for any particular educated sixteenth-century reader.    1 
 1. The passage is primarily concerned with discussing the

A. unsuitability of the Roman classics for the teaching of morality
B. approach that sixteenth-century scholars took to learning the Roman classics
C. effect that the Roman classics had on educated people in the Renaissance
D. way in which the Roman classics were taught in the sixteenth century
E. contrast between the teaching of the Roman classics in the Renaissance and the teaching of the Roman classics today

2  
 2. The information in the passage suggests that which of the following would most likely result from a student’s having studied the Roman classics under a typical sixteenth-century teacher?

A. The student recalls a line of Roman poetry in conjunction with a point learned about grammar.
B. The student argues that a Roman poem about gluttony is not morally offensive when it is understood in its historical context.
C. The student is easily able to express thoughts in Latin.
D. The student has mastered large portions of the Roman classics.
E. The student has a sophisticated knowledge of Roman poetry but little knowledge of Roman prose.

3  
 3. Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the assertion made in the passage concerning what a modern reader cannot know?

A. Some modern readers are thoroughly familiar with the classics of ancient Roman literature because they majored in classics in college or obtained doctoral degrees in classics.
B. Some modern readers have learned which particular works of Roman literature were taught to students in the sixteenth century.
C. Modern readers can, with some effort, discover that sixteenth-century teachers selected some seemingly dangerous classical texts while excluding other seemingly innocuous texts.
D. Copies of many of the classical texts used by sixteenth-century teachers, including marginal notes describing the oral lessons that were based on the texts, can be found in museums today.
E. Many of the writings of the best sixteenth-century Renaissance scholars have been translated from Latin and are available to modern readers.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE Question #1

The passage focuses primarily on the way Roman classics were taught during the Renaissance, so Choice D is the correct answer. Te approach that sixteenth-century scholars took is mentioned, but it serves only to introduce and contrast with the pedagogical methods used in schools; therefore Choice B is incorrect. The passage mentions a supposed incompatibility between Roman classics and the teaching of morality as motivating Renaissance teaching methods, but that incompatibility is not the passage’s main topic; thus Choice A is incorrect. Choices C and E are also incorrect, since the passage does not discuss the effect of Roman classics on educated Renaissance people or the teaching of Roman classics today.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE Question 2

Choice A is correct. Te passage specifcally mentions syntax as one of the subjects that the pieces of text served to illustrate; therefore it is logical that students would associate the text with the grammar point it was used to teach. Choices B and D are incorrect because the passage implies that students were not given the context or tools to place Roman classics in context, or to read and master large portions of works. Choices C and E are also incorrect, since the passage makes no mention of Latin composition being taught, or of any differences in the ways in which Roman poetry and prose were treated in schools.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE Question #3

The passage asserts that modern readers cannot know the associations Roman poetry had for Renaissance readers, because those associations arose from the specifc ways Roman texts were presented in schools. Tis assertion assumes that there is no way for modern readers to know how such texts were taught during the Renaissance. Choice D shows a way that scholars can recover this pedagogical context and is therefore the correct choice. Since the passage’s assertion does not depend on modern readers’ familiarity with the classics, with their knowledge of which works were taught in schools, with the inclusion or exclusion by sixteenth-century teachers of specifc texts, or with the accessibility of the works of Renaissance scholars, all the other choices are incorrect.

While the best sixteenth-century Renaissance scholars mastered the cla

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