PrepTest 153, Section 3, Question 12
The Discourses , a work attributed to the(64 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(6 more words not shown)
- AThe Discourses would(17 more words not shown)
- BSome of the(14 more words not shown)
- CArrian in some(19 more words not shown)
- DArrian had high(17 more words not shown)
- EDuring his long(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Did Arrian merely record his teacher's lectures, or did he write the work himself and put his teacher's name on it? I don't know yet. The author rejects the second account because people knew Epictetus's views and would spot Arrian trying to pass off different views as the teacher's.
But writing the work himself doesn't necessarily mean filling it with his own views. Imagine Arrian composing a new work using ideas he knew Epictetus held. Readers could recognize the ideas as Epictetus's without knowing who actually composed the text. The opinions could fit the teacher while the authorship story was false.
What we’re looking for
That's the gap that bothers me: the author moves from Arrian authoring the work to Arrian substituting his own philosophy. Those aren't automatically the same. For a strengthener, I'd initially want evidence that if Arrian had written it, his own views would have appeared in it. Then the familiar-views test would have a better chance of exposing the supposed deception.
Working the answers
- A
This could give someone a reason to attach Epictetus's name to a work: otherwise, hardly anyone would pay attention. That possibility goes against the author's dismissal of false attribution. Popularity by itself doesn't tell us who wrote the text, but a benefit from using the teacher's name is certainly not evidence that the student was unlikely to do it.
- B
Finding some ideas Arrian accepted leaves his involvement possible; it doesn't establish that he couldn't have authored the work. Teacher and student could share views, so this also doesn't prove authorship. Either way, it fails to close the gap in the author's argument for why false attribution was highly unlikely.
- C
A model who had falsely attributed works to someone else might make us more suspicious, not less. But be careful: Arrian modeled himself on Xenophon only 'in some ways.' We aren't told he copied this particular practice. C doesn't establish what Arrian did, and it offers no reason to rule out the alleged deception.
- DCorrect
This isn't the authorship-versus-views answer I predicted. It works on another part of the argument: what would happen to Arrian if the deception were exposed?
The passage already says he would be found out if he passed off his views as Epictetus's. D adds something important to lose. Arrian had high status, and he knew being exposed as dishonest would damage it. The prospect of discovery now carries a consequence that could deter him. That makes the proposed deception less likely.
It doesn't settle the possibility I raised about imitating his teacher's views, and it doesn't make deception impossible. A strengthener doesn't have to repair every objection. This one improves the author's case by explaining why exposure would matter to Arrian.
- E
These positions tell us about Arrian's career, but they don't tell us whose views he would write or what he stood to lose by falsely attributing a work. Even if the roles suggest distinction, that is less direct than D's explicit consequence for known dishonesty. A career list is not an argument against this act.
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