Question

Read the passage from Of the Wisdom of the Ancients. Now the philosophy of the Greeks, which in investigating the material principles of things is careful and acute, in inquiring the principles of motion, wherein lies all vigour of operation, is negligent and languid; and on the point now in question seems to be altogether blind and babbling; for that opinion of the Peripatetics which refers the original impulse of matter to privation, is little more than words—a name for the thing rather than a description of it. Which phrase from the passage best states its central idea?

Answer 1

The excerpt concerns the the concept of matter and its comprehension from the point of view of Greek philosophy. We can observe the explanation for the principles of the matter and the conclusion by Peripatetics. The latter claims that not the principles of the matter, but the name of it is important. The lines of a name for the thing rather than a description of it show the central idea of this small excerpt.

Answer 2

The correct answer is  "a name for the thing rather than a description of it."  

The phrase from the passage that best states its central idea is: “a name for the thing rather than a description of it.” The author, Francis Bacon (1561-1626), writes this excerpt about the Greeks with no clear answer, just an idea of what the answer could be. Francis Bacon wrote the essay “Of The Wisdom of the Ancients” in 1609. He was a prominent English philosopher famous for his using of the scientific method and reasoning.