Although the earliest surviving Greek inscriptions written in an alphabet date from the
eighth century B.C., a strong case can be made that the Greeks actually adopted
alphabetic writing at least two centuries earlier. Significantly, the text of these
earliest surviving Greek inscriptions sometimes runs from right to left and
sometimes from left to right. Now, the Greeks learned alphabetic writing from the
Phoenicians, and in the process they would surely have adopted whatever
convention the Phoenicians were then using with respect to the direction of
writing. Originally, Phoenician writing ran in either direction, but by the eighth century
B.C. it had been consistently written from right to left for about two centuries.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first provides evidence in support of the position that the argument seeks
to establish; the second is that position.
B. The first provides evidence in support of the position that the argument seeks
to establish; the second presents an assumption on which that argument relies.
C. The first is an assumption that the argument concludes is unjustified; the
second presents part of the grounds for that conclusion.
D. The first is evidence that forms the basis for an objection to the position that
the argument seeks to establish; the second is that position.
E. The first is evidence that forms the basis for an objection to the position that
the argument seeks to establish; the second is a judgment that is introduced in
order to call into question the relevance of that evidence.