Question

Select the correct text in the passage.

Which two sentences in this excerpt from "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau support the transcendentalist idea that the individual is more
important than government or society?
This American government-what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant
losing some of its integrity? It has not the vitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will. It is a sort of wooden gun to
the people themselves...
But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it. Can there not be a government in
which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience?- in which majorities decide only those questions to which the rule of
expediency is applicable? Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislation? Why has every man a
conscience, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the
right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right. It is truly enough said that a corporation has no
conscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience.

Answer 1

Two sentences from 'Civil Disobedience' by Henry David Thoreau support the transcendentalist idea of the importance of the individual over government or society.

Step-by-step explanation:

The two sentences that support the transcendentalist idea that the individual is more important than government or society are:

1. It has not the vitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will.
2. I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.

In these sentences, Thoreau emphasizes that individuals have more power and influence than the government. He suggests that a single person can have a greater impact and that individuals should prioritize their own conscience and what they believe is right over blindly following the legislation.

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