Question

Read the passage from Of the Wisdom of the Ancients. For Venus excites the general appetite of conjunction and procreation; Cupid, her son, applies the appetite to an individual object. From Venus therefore comes the general disposition, from Cupid the more exact sympathy. Which statement best describes how the author structures the passage?
a. He uses logos to convince the reader of his point.
b. He uses pathos to engage the reader emotionally.
c. He uses positive connotations to amuse the reader.
d. He uses negative connotations to frighten the reader.

Answer 1

The correct option is : B. He uses pathos to engage the reader emotionally.

Pathos is a Greek word (πάθος) that can take several meanings.

• It is one of the three modes of persuasion in rhetoric (along with ethos and logos), according to the philosophy of Aristotle.

• In artistic criticism, the word pathos is used to refer to the intimate emotion present in a work of art that awakens a similar one in those who contemplate it. It represents an appeal to the public's emotion, to their empathy, provoking feelings that already reside in him.

• It can also be defined as: «everything that is felt or experienced: state of the soul, sadness, passion, suffering».

• Or as the ethical concept referred to everything perceived by the person, biologically and culturally.

Answer 2

The correct answer is letter b. He uses pathos to engage the reader emotionally. The whole passage talks about emotions - from the general appetite to the individual appetite, it shows the general disposition in a Cupid's point of view of more exact sympathy. It's a total package of emotions.