Passage (Francis Bacon, *Of Studies*, 1625): "Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment, and disposition of business. For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs, come best, from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humor of a scholar. They perfect nature, and are perfected by experience: for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need proyning, by study; and studies themselves, do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation." The closing sentence "Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them" serves principally to:
Aargue that wise men do not need studies at all.
Bcontrast three stances toward studies and identify the wise stance as instrumental — using studies for the ends they serve.
Cclaim that crafty and simple men are equally unfit for learning.
Ddefend studies against the criticisms made earlier in the passage.
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. contrast three stances toward studies and identify the wise stance as instrumental — using studies for the ends they serve.
The sentence sets up a three-part contrast — *contemn / admire / use* — that grades attitudes by usefulness. Wise men neither despise nor revere studies; they *use* them.
Bacon adds, by way of justification, *for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation*. The instrumental stance is wise precisely because studies themselves can't tell you when or how to apply them.
- **A** mistakes *use* for *do without* — wise men do use studies; they just don't worship them.
- **C** is too narrow and misses the third (wise) stance.
- **D** misreads the closing sentence as defensive; it is actually classificatory.
The move (three stances → identify the right one) is a recurring GRE-RC pattern.
Related questions
An argument states 'the village bus service is unreliable, so it should be banned'. The unA 'strengthen' CR question asks which option, if true, would:In a GMAT Critical Reasoning question, the FIRST step to take is:In formal GMAT register, which idiom is correct? 'Her findings are _____ those of the earlWhich uses correct parallel structure? 'On weekends she enjoys _____.'Choose the option with correct subject-verb agreement: 'The collection of old coins _____ On GMAT Sentence Correction, the recommended elimination strategy is to:In a GMAT Sentence Correction question, option (A) ALWAYS represents: