Blank (i)
The sentence opens with "The sheer (i) ____ woven through the essays of the seventeenthcentury philosopher Kenelm Digby has long astounded intellectual historians." The second clause elaborates: "that a provincial thinker... could range so effortlessly across theology, natural philosophy, and classical antiquity seems almost inexplicable." The ability to range across multiple fields of knowledge defines the quality that astounds historians. The blank must mean broad learning, extensive scholarship, or mastery of many disciplines.
- A. fastidiousness - Extreme attention to detail; meticulousness. While careful scholarship is admirable, the second clause emphasizes range across fields, not precision within a field. Incorrect.
- B. whimsy - Playful fancy; quirky humor. The ability to range across theology, philosophy, and classics is not a matter of whimsy but of deep learning. Incorrect.
- C. polymathy - Extensive learning across many fields of knowledge; encyclopedic scholarship. "The sheer polymathy woven through the essays" perfectly captures the wide-ranging erudition described in the second clause. Correct.

Blank (ii)
The second clause describes Digby as "a provincial thinker, working in an age when printed texts remained prohibitively (ii) ______ for most." The word "prohibitively" signals an extreme degree that makes something almost impossible. The contrast with his polymathy suggests that texts were hard to obtain, rare, or not readily available - making his broad learning all the more astonishing. The blank must mean difficult to access, scarce, or not easily obtained.
- D. didactic - Intended to instruct; having a moral lesson. "Prohibitively didactic" makes little sense - a book can be didactic, but this does not make it unobtainable. Incorrect.
- E. inaccessible - Difficult or impossible to reach, obtain, or use. "Printed texts remained prohibitively inaccessible for most" perfectly captures the scarcity that makes Digby's polymathy so remarkable. Correct.
- F. abundant - Plentiful, existing in large quantities. This is the opposite of what the sentence requires. If books were abundant, Digby's learning would be less remarkable, not more. Incorrect.