The 'principal worries of our life' follow us even if we:
- A. detach ourselves from family life
- B. are deep in buying and selling
- C. mentally abstain from the hustle and bustle
- D. enter schools of philosophy
Pick an option to check yourself, or open the answer below.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. A and C only
Explanation
Per the key.
Note: Passage I is from Montaigne's essay 'Of Solitude' (Essays I.39, 1580), given in a modern translation and summarised here. Solitude aims at living at ease, but people mistake the way: leaving court and market does not free us, since a household is hardly less troublesome than a state, and ambition, avarice, fear and lust follow us into cloisters and schools of philosophy. We must withdraw the soul itself from these attachments. Key doubtful: the text says our cares follow us into cloisters and schools of philosophy (D), which supports option 1 or 3 rather than the key.