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During Rome’s republican period, which ended in the first century BCE, libraries were predominantly owned by wealthy individuals who tightly controlled access to their book collections. The first public library became available in Rome in 28 BCE and was soon followed by one commissioned by Emperor Augustus. As modern scholar Fabio Fernandes notes, however, these two traditions aren’t as distinct as they seem, as both the emperor and the private library owners viewed their libraries as extensions of their personal patronage, just on vastly differing scales.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
Explanation
Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text. The text describes two types of libraries in first-century BCE Rome—private libraries controlled by wealthy individuals, and the public libraries like that commissioned by Emperor Augustus—and then notes that "these two traditions aren’t as distinct as they seem." It explains that both private-library owners and the emperor saw their libraries as "extensions of their personal patronage, just on vastly differing scales," because the emperor’s patronage extended to the whole citizenry of Rome. Thus, both private and public libraries in ancient Rome were fundamentally tied to relevant principles of patronage.
Choice A is incorrect because the text mentions that Rome’s republican period only to say that it "ended in the first century BCE," thus it doesn’t support any conclusions about possible occurrences "throughout Rome’s republican period." Choice B is incorrect. The text neither discusses "early imperial leaders in Rome," nor whether their level of influence was appropriate. Rather it discusses the end of "Rome’s republican period" in relation to libraries, who created them, and who got to use them without passing judgment on propriety. Choice D is incorrect. Although the text indicates that Rome’s republican period "ended in the first century BCE," a period that also saw the first public library come into use (28 BCE), nothing in the text suggests that private libraries disappeared at that time.