Question

at all events, he holds no opinion which he cannot defend, with a variety and richness of thought and expression and an aptness of illustration which show it to be a growth from the soil of his own mind, with a living root and not a twig broken off other men’s thoughts and stuck down to subserve a temporary purpose which sentence best summarizes paragraph 4? a at every event he attended, he would argue his opinion, hoping his thoughts and expressions would grow in the minds of others, like roots of a developing tree b he is always articulate and well - equipped to defend his positions, and yet, he is capable of generating his own ideas rather than simply reiterating the doctrines of others. c all of his opinions could be defended, and he usually provided illustrations he had drawn to support his positions. like a growing tree, he too grew in thought and purpose d there is no opinion he has that he is not willing to change with his richness of thought and expression, and like the growth of a tree with roots and soil, he too was deep

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze paragraph 47 (from the text: "As to myself, he holds no opinion which he cannot defend, with a variety and richness of thought and expression and an aptness of illustration which show it to be a growth from the soil of his own mind with a living root and not a twig broken off other men’s thoughts and stuck down to subserve a temporary purpose...") and each option:

• Option A: Talks about arguing opinions to grow thoughts, but the paragraph focuses on the origin/nature of his opinions, not arguing to grow. Eliminate.
• Option B: Says he rehashes others' doctrines, but the text says his opinions are "a growth from the soil of his own mind", so he doesn't rehash others. Eliminate.
• Option C: Mentions defending opinions with illustrations and growth over time. The paragraph says his opinions are well - defended, have rich thought/expression/illustration, and are a "growth" (implying development over time). This matches.
• Option D: Says he is not willing to change, but the paragraph doesn't mention resistance to change. Eliminate.

Answer:

C. All of his opinions could be defended, and he surely provided illustrations he had drawn to support his positions. Like a growing tree, he too grew in thought and purpose