Back to forum
Verbal·Information and Ideas·Central Ideas and Details
easy
The following text is from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 1841 essay “The Method of Nature.”

The scholars are the priests of that thought which establishes the foundations of the earth.

No matter what is their special work or profession, they stand for the spiritual interest of the world, and it is a common calamity if they neglect their post in a country where the material interest is so predominant as it is in America.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A
Scholars have played an important role in society for a much longer time than have those people who are mainly concerned with financial gain.
B
It is important for Americans of all kinds to have at least some military experience if society is to function properly.
C
In a country whose citizens are largely preoccupied with tangible gains, it is crucial that some people work to foster and preserve ideas.
D
The habit of intellectuals of privileging ideas over material things invariably leads to tragedy.