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Re: Many Enlightenment philosophers viewed Machiavelli’s book as
[#permalink]
08 Oct 2017, 13:16
Explanation
If Machiavelli only “pretended” to endorse the claims to power, and if they were subject to exposure and caricature, they must have been not only illegitimate but ridiculous.
None of the answers suggests ridiculousness, but two answers — specious and spurious — mean the claims are false. While not synonyms, both
words describe claims that are superficially attractive, but in fact false.
Hence options specious, spurious are correct!