Question

read the excerpt from pericless funeral oration by thucydides. to me it seems that the consummation which has overtaken these men shows us the meaning of manliness in its first revelation and in its final proof. some of them, no doubt, had their faults; but what we ought to remember first is their gallant conduct against the enemy in defence of their native land. they have blotted out evil with good, and done more service to the common - wealth than they ever did harm in their private lives. how does the speaker use a rhetorical device to support his purpose? he uses antithesis to persuade the audience that it is noble to defend ones country. he uses antithesis to inform the audience of the actions the men took for the country. he uses meiosis to persuade the audience that the men acted bravely during the war. he uses meiosis to inform the audience of the faults the men had in their private lives.

Explanation:

Antithesis is a rhetorical device that juxtaposes contrasting ideas. In the text, the speaker contrasts the men's faults (private harm) with their gallant conduct (public good/service to the common - wealth). The purpose of a funeral oration is often to praise the dead and inspire the living. By using antithesis to show that their good (defending the country) outweighed their bad, it persuades the audience that defending one's country is noble. Meiosis is a rhetorical understatement, which is not used here. The speaker is not just informing about actions (antithesis option 2) but persuading about the nobility, and there is no meiosis in the text (options 3 and 4 are wrong).

Answer:

He uses antithesis to persuade the audience that it is noble to defend one's country.