Question

Read this passage from The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin. Which most closely represents Franklin’s efforts to be more humble?
I cannot boast of much Success in acquiring the reality of this Virtue; but I had a good deal with regard to the appearance of it.—I made it a rule to forbear all direct contradiction to the sentiments of others, and all positive assertion of my own. I even forbid myself agreeable to the old laws of our junto, the use of every word or expression in the language that imported a fixed opinion; such as “certainly,” “undoubtedly,” etc., and I adopted instead of them, “I conceive,” “ I apprehend,” or “I imagine a thing to be so or so,’ or “it so appears to me at present.”—When another asserted something that I thought an error, I denied myself the pleasure of contradicting him abruptly, and of showing immediately some absurdity in his proposition; and in answering I began by observing that in certain cases or circumstances his opinion would be right, but that in the present case there appeared or seemed to me some difference, etc.

A.He began using opinionated words.

B.He adopted a more tolerant attitude in speaking with others.

C.He became more accepting of the absurd positions of others.

D.He stopped contradicting what other people thought.

Answer 1

Answer:

D.He stopped contradicting what other people thought.

Explanation:

He says it himself right here: "I made it a rule to forbear all direct contradiction to the sentiments of others". Instead of contradicting immediately what other people think, he decided to listen to them and sometimes, he'd see that those people could actually be right: "I began by observing that in certain cases or circumstances his opinion would be right".

Answer 2

Hello!

If I understood this correctly, the answer is $\boxed{ \bf D.~He~stopped~contradicting~what~other~people~thought.}$

$\bf Explanation:$

"I made it a rule to forbear all direct $\sm contradiction$ to the sentiments of others"

He refrained from directly contradicting other people's opinions.

"When another asserted something that I thought an error, I denied myself the pleasure of contradicting him abruptly, and of showing immediately some absurdity in his proposition;"

Although he wanted to contradict the man, he refrained from doing so. At least, not abruptly.