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It is their sensitive response tohuman circumstance that accounts forthe persistence of certain universalideas. Rabbi Meir, a second-centuryscholar, admonished his disciples tolook not at the pitcher but at its contents because, he stated, "Many a new pitcher has been found to be full of old wine." This was his way of emphasizing the importance of the distinction between form and idea.and of stressing that the integrityof an idea is more important thanthe form of its expression.
Creative ideas not only produce their own instruments of survivalas time and circumstances demand,but permit the substitution of newforms for old under the pressure of chanced circumstances. For exampledemocracy, as an idea, originatedin ancient, Greece and was carried from there to Western Europe and the Americas. But it did not retain theancient Greek form: it passed through several reforming processes and exists today in many countries. Democratic governments differ in form because democracy is in principle dynamic and has therefore responded to localneeds.
The author is primarily concerned with
A.illustrating the importance of a historical figure
B.discussing an important characteristic of human ideas
C.describing the history of the growth of democracy
D.contrasting ancient and modern views of the importance of creative ideas
E.evaluating the contribution of ancient Greece to modern government
According to the passage, democracy is an example of
A.a human circumstance that has molded creative ideas
B.an instrument of survival that has altered its original form
C.an attribute of a creative idea that has allowed that idea to persist
D.a creative idea that has persisted because of its adaptability
E.a reforming process that has culminated in the creation of modern governments
The “new pitcher” mentioned in line 6 is the equivalent of which of the following elements in the author's discussion of democracy (lines 15-22)?
A.Ancient Greece
B.The idea of democracy
C.A modern democratic government
D.A dynamic principle
E.The Greek form of democracy
It can be inferred from the passage that the author would disagree most with which of the following assertions?
A.Changing circumstances sometimes give rise to original ideas.
B.Creative ideas have universal applications.
C.Changing human needs influence universal ideas.
D.Democratic institutions are appropriate in the modern world.
E.An idea must be expressed in a traditional way.
