Question

two sisters have come to live with their uncle, mr. brooke.
from middlemarch
it was hardly a year since they had come to live at tipton grange with their uncle, a man nearly sixty, of acquiescent temper, miscellaneous opinions, and uncertain vote. he had travelled in his younger years, and was held in this part of the country to have contracted a too rambling habit of mind. mr. brooke’s conclusions were as difficult to predict as the weather; it was only safe to say that he would act with benevolent intentions, and that he would spend as little money as possible in carrying them out. for the most glutinously indefinite minds enclose some hard grains of habit.
(from middlemarch by george eliot)
this sentence is from the passage:
\for the most glutinously indefinite minds enclose some hard grains of habit.\
what does the phrase hard grains of habit refer to in this passage?

1. mr. brooke is a man of \miscellaneous opinions.\
2. mr. brooke \had travelled in his younger years.\
3. mr. brooke is \as difficult to predict as the weather.\
4. mr. brooke \would spend as little money as possible.\

Explanation:

To determine the meaning of "hard grains of habit", we analyze each option:

• Option 1: "Miscellaneous opinions" don't directly relate to a fixed habit.
• Option 2: Traveling in youth doesn't imply a hard - grained habit.
• Option 3: Being unpredictable is the opposite of a fixed habit.
• Option 4: The phrase "would spend as little money as possible" shows a consistent, hard - to - change habit, which matches the idea of "hard grains of habit" (a fixed, consistent habit).

Answer:

1. Mr. Brooke "would spend as little money as possible."