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Information and Ideas / Command of Evidence Difficulty: Medium

“On Virtue” is a 1766 poem by Phillis Wheatley. Wheatley addresses the poem directly to the quality of virtue, imploring it to assist her in reaching a future goal: blank

Which quotation from “On Virtue” most effectively illustrates the claim?

“Attend me, Virtue, thro’ my youthful years! / O leave me not to the false joys of time! / But guide my steps to endless life and bliss.”

“I cease to wonder, and no more attempt / Thine height t’explore, or fathom thy profound.”

“O thou bright jewel in my aim I strive / To comprehend thee. Thine own words declare / Wisdom is higher than a fool can reach.”

“But, O my soul, sink not into despair, / Virtue is near thee, and with gentle hand / Would now embrace thee, hovers o’er thine head.”

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Explanation

Choice A is the best answer because it most effectively illustrates the claim that Wheatley addresses her poem "On Virtue" to the quality of virtue, imploring it to assist her in reaching a future goal. In the quotation, Wheatley begs virtue to accompany her, or "attend [her]," through her youth and to "guide [her] steps to" the future goal of "endless life and bliss."

Choice B is incorrect because this quotation suggests the difficulty of fully comprehending virtue. Rather than asking virtue for help, Wheatley presents it as a quality that is impossible to entirely understand because it is so grand and deep. Choice C is incorrect because this quotation describes Wheatley’s effort to comprehend virtue despite virtue itself declaring that such wisdom is beyond her grasp, or "higher than a fool can reach." Choice D is incorrect because rather than asking virtue for help in this quotation, Wheatley urges herself to "sink not into despair" because virtue is always nearby.