A. They are compelled by something appealing but wasteful, resulting in their demise
Explanation:
The word "profligacy" means to be excessively wasteful of resources. So, the best interpretation of the following quote is that the people are compelled by something appealing but wasteful, resulting in their demise.
Because from the quote, the people are described as "not knowing what to do with their gold" which indicates that they had no concrete and workable plan on how to invest their gold and they became wasteful and perished.
