Passage (Ralph Waldo Emerson, *Self-Reliance*, 1841): "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events. Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being. And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers and benefactors, obeying the Almighty effort and advancing on Chaos and the Dark." The phrase *confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age* most likely means that great men:
Atrusted innocently in the deepest currents of their own time, allowing those currents to work through them.
Bbehaved foolishly and immaturely.
Cconfided personal secrets to their contemporaries.
Donly acted on the advice of older people.
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. trusted innocently in the deepest currents of their own time, allowing those currents to work through them.
*Childlike* — Emerson uses it positively (not pejoratively): innocent, undivided, trusting. *Confided themselves to the genius of their age* = entrusted themselves to the dominant spirit of their time. The combination: great men submitted with innocent trust to the deepest current of their era.
The next clause confirms: *betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart*.
- **B** treats *childlike* as *childish*.
- **C** misreads *confided themselves* as *confided secrets*.
- **D** introduces age-based deference.
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