The correct answer is D.
The excerpt from Chapter 3 of "The Scarlet Letter" reveals that, while Reverend John Wilson is a man or kind spirit, he has dedicate himself to develop his intellectual gifts. This implicates that he believes that actions based on intellect are superior than those based on emotion.
Answer A is incorrect because there is no mention of the Reverend feeling superior to his contemporaries.
Answer B is not correct either because in the excerpt we can see that the Reverend favours intellect when making decisions.
Answer C is also incorrect because the growth of society is not mentioned in the excerpt.