Read the excerpt from Pericles’s funeral oration by Thucydides. Mighty indeed are the marks and monuments of our empire which we have left. Future ages will wonder at us, as the present age wonders at us now. We do not need the praises of a Homer, or of anyone else whose words may delight us for the moment, but whose estimation of facts will fall short of what is really true. For our adventurous spirit has forced an entry into every sea and into every land; and everywhere we have left behind us everlasting memorials of good done to our friends or suffering inflicted on our enemies. Which detail best supports the speaker’s purpose to convince the audience of Athens’s power and influence?
Answer
A
“Future ages will wonder at us”
B
“We do not need the praises of a Homer”
C
“whose estimation of facts will fall short of what is really true”
D
“everywhere we have left behind us everlasting memorials”
Explanation
The speaker wants to show that Athens has power and influence far beyond its own borders. The detail that Athenians have left “everywhere” lasting memorials of their actions supports this by emphasizing how widely their impact has been felt. “Future ages will wonder at us” expresses confidence, but the memorials provide stronger evidence of Athens’s reach.
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