Question

read the passage from chapter 17 of the prince. among the wonderful deeds of hannibal this one is enumerated: that having led an enormous army, composed of many various races of men, to fight in foreign lands, no dissensions arose either among them or against the prince, whether in his bad or in his good fortune. this arose from nothing else than his inhuman cruelty, which, with his boundless valour, made him revered and terrible in the sight of his soldiers, but without that cruelty, his other virtues were not sufficient to produce this effect. how does the author’s diction affect the tone in this passage? words like inhuman, cruelty, and terrible support a tone of fear. words like wonderful, boundless, valour, revered, and virtues support a tone of admiration. words like sufficient, enumerated, virtues, and dissensions support a critical tone. words like dissensions, bad, inhuman, cruelty, and terrible support a tone of sorrow.

Explanation:

The passage highlights Hannibal's successful leadership of a diverse army, attributing it to his "inhuman cruelty" paired with "boundless valour" that made him "revered and terrible" to his soldiers. The words "wonderful", "boundless", "valour", "revered", and "virtues" convey the author's positive regard for Hannibal's leadership achievement, creating an admiring tone. Other options are incorrect: the first overemphasizes fear without accounting for the admiring terms; the third's words do not create a critical tone; the fourth's words do not support a tone of sorrow.

Answer:

B. Words like wonderful, boundless, valour, revered, and virtues support a tone of admiration.