Question

read this passage from chapter 5 of the prince:
there are, for example, the spartans and the romans. the spartans held athens and thebes, establishing there an oligarchy; nevertheless they lost them. the romans, in order to hold capua, carthage, and numantia, dismantled them, and did not lose them. they wished to hold greece as the spartans held it, making it free and permitting its laws, and did not succeed. so to hold it they were compelled to dismantle many cities in the country, for in truth there is no safe way to retain them otherwise than by ruining them. and he who becomes master of a city accustomed to freedom and does not destroy it, may expect to be destroyed by it, for in rebellion it has always the watchword of liberty and its ancient privileges as a rallying point, which neither time nor benefits will ever cause it to forget. and whatever you may do or provide against, they never forget that
what text evidence supports machiavelli’s secondary purpose to inform readers about the tactics sparta and rome used to hold cities and their effectiveness? select three options.
□ the list of cities conquered by sparta and rome
□ the description of how sparta had held greece
□ the explanation of why rome dismantled greek cities
□ the characterization of liberty as a “watchword” of rebellion
□ the example of pisa rebelling against the florentines

Explanation:

1. The list of conquered cities (Athens, Thebes for Sparta; Capua, Carthage, Numantia for Rome) provides concrete examples of the territories the powers targeted, supporting the informative purpose about their tactics.
2. The description of how Sparta held Greece (establishing oligarchies) details a specific tactic used to control cities, directly informing readers about their methods.
3. The explanation of why Rome dismantled Greek cities (because allowing local freedom/laws failed, and destroying cities was the only safe way to retain control) outlines the reasoning behind their tactic, supporting the informative goal.

Answer:

• the list of cities conquered by Sparta and Rome
• the description of how Sparta had held Greece
• the explanation of why Rome dismantled Greek cities