Which of the following statements about Malthus's passage are correct?
(A) Malthus called the vices of mankind the precursors in the great army of destruction.
(B) Malthus held that the vices of mankind often finish the dreadful work themselves.
(C) Malthus wrote that if the vices fail, famine advances first in terrific array.
(D) Malthus held that the power of population is superior to the earth's power to produce subsistence.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → A, B and D only
(A) Malthus called the vices of mankind the precursors in the great army of destruction. — Correct. In the passage the vices of mankind are called the precursors in the great army of destruction. Malthus saw them as the first agents that cut down population.
(B) Malthus held that the vices of mankind often finish the dreadful work themselves. — Correct. The same sentence adds that the vices often finish the dreadful work themselves, so no other check is needed.
(C) Malthus wrote that if the vices fail, famine advances first in terrific array. — Incorrect. If the vices fail, it is sickly seasons, epidemics, pestilence and plague that advance in terrific array. Famine comes last, stalking in the rear, to finish what the others leave incomplete.
(D) Malthus held that the power of population is superior to the earth's power to produce subsistence. — Correct. The passage opens with this claim. The power of population is so superior to the earth's power to produce subsistence that premature death must visit the human race.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Theory of Demographic Transition … |