human affairs(RC) - Source (Grockit)

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human affairs(RC) - Source (Grockit)

by x2suresh » Wed May 18, 2011 7:53 pm
Some have asserted that human affairs are
altogether determined by the voluntary action of men,
some that the Providence of God directs us in every
step, some that all events are fixed by Destiny. It is
(5) for us to ascertain how far each of these affirmations
is true.
The life of individual man is of a mixed nature. In
part he submits to the free-will impulses of himself and
others, in part he is under the inexorable dominion of
(10) law. He insensibly changes his estimate of the relative
power of each of these influences as he passes through
successive stages. In the confidence of youth he
imagines that very much is under his control, in the
disappointment of old age very little. As time wears on,
(15) and the delusions of early imagination vanish away, he
learns to correct his sanguine views, and prescribes a
narrower boundary for the things he expects to obtain.
The realities of life undeceive him at last, and there
steals over the evening of his days an unwelcome
(20) conviction of the vanity of human hopes. The things he
has secured are not the things he expected. He sees that
a Supreme Power has been using him for unknown ends,
that he was brought into the world without his own
knowledge and is departing from it against his own
(25) will.
Whoever has made the physical and intellectual
history of individual man his study will be prepared to
admit in what a surprising manner it foreshadows social
history. The equilibrium and movement of humanity are
(30) altogether physiological phenomena. Yet not without
hesitation may such an opinion be frankly avowed, since
it is offensive to the pride, and to many of the
prejudices and interests of our age. An author who has
been disposed to devote many years to the labor of
(35) illustrating this topic has need of the earnest support
of all who prize the truth; and, considering the extent
and profundity of his subject, his work, at the best,
must be very imperfect, requiring all the forbearance



q1)What is the relationship of the last paragraph to the rest of the passage?
(A)It broadens the scope of the passage to include history
B)It orients the passage toward a particular endThis is the credited response.
C)It offers an avenue of redemption for man's disillusionment
D)It refutes the passage's suggestion of a particular trajectory
E)It adds a historical dimension to the passage's concerns


I am having difficulty in understanding the last paragraph. Can some one help me?