Read the excerpt from Pericles’s funeral oration by Thucydides. Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people. When it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law; when it is a question of putting one person before another in positions of public responsibility, what counts is not membership of a particular class, but the actual ability which the man possesses. No one, so long as he has it in him to be of service to the state, is kept in political obscurity because of poverty. Which statement best shows how the speaker develops the idea that power is in the hands of the whole people?
Answer
A
He gives examples of different positions people can fill.
B
He explains that the government is a democracy.
C
He emphasizes that having wealth is not important.
D
He shows that all people have the same opportunities.
Explanation
The speaker supports the idea that power belongs to the whole people by describing equal treatment under the law and opportunities for public responsibility based on ability rather than class or wealth. He also says poverty does not prevent someone from serving the state. These details show that all people have the same opportunities, making choice C the best answer.
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