JIPMAT 2024
VA
Reading Comprehension
Hard
Read the paragraph and answer the questions that follow.
All great thinkers live and move on a high plane of thought. It is only there they can breathe freely. It is only in contact with spirits like themselves they can live harmoniously and attain that serenity which comes from ideal companionship. I have always thought that the strongest argument in favour of the Baconian theory was, that no man, however indubitable his genius, could have written the plays and sonnets that have come down to us under Shakespeare's name who had not the liberal education of Bacon. How this habit of intercourse with the gods makes one impatient of mere men. The magnificent ideals that have ever haunted the human mind, and given us our highest proofs of a future immortality by reason of the impossibility of their fulfillment here, are splintered into atoms by contact with life's realities. Hence comes our sublime discontent. It may be spiritual or intellectual pride that is engendered on the high plane of intellectual life. But whatever it is, it becomes inevitable. A habitual meditation on the vast problems that underline human life, and are knit into human destinies. It is easy to understand, therefore, why such thinkers fly to the solitude of their own thoughts, or the silent companionship of the immortals; and if they care to present their views in prose or verse to the world, that these views take a sombre and melancholy setting from "the pale cast of thought"in which they were engendered.What does the phrase "THE PALE CAST OF THOUGHT"mean?
What does the phrase "THE PALE CAST OF THOUGHT"mean?
✅ Correct Option: 4
The phrase "THE PALE CAST OF THOUGHT" means Serious and prolonged thinking.In the given passage, the author describes how great thinkers engage in "habitual meditation on the vast problems that underline human life," and how their views take "a sombre and melancholy setting from 'the pale cast of thought.'" This context suggests that the phrase refers to deep, serious, and extended contemplation.The expression comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet and refers to the way prolonged deliberation can drain action of its vigor and immediacy. In the passage, it characterizes the profound, intensive thinking process that great intellectuals engage in when contemplating significant philosophical questions.The phrase doesn't simply indicate: - A state of mind during sickness - A sudden flash of thoughts - Just an unhappy state of mindRather, it describes the serious, deep, and sustained intellectual effort that characterizes profound thinking.Hence, the correct answer is Option 4: Serious and prolonged thinking.