Directions: For the given question, select one entry for the blank from the given choices, to best complete the text.

The late Tudor and early Stuart polity was held together by careful negotiation, qualified tolerance and mobile networks of allegiance. What's remarkable is not how ________ the European society was, but on the contrary, how accommodating.

(1) Incorrect; the option has to convey the overall tone of the passage. The first sentence talks of how the polity was held together by negotiation, tolerance, and mobile (changing) allegiance. All these phrases convey a divided society held together by diplomacy. (2) Correct; because the polity was held together by 'careful negotiation, qualified tolerance and mobile networks of allegiance', it can be inferred that without these, the polity would have fallen apart. This implies that the polity was divided, and 'schismatic' correctly conveys the prevalent situation. (3) Incorrect; the option has to qualify the opinion expressed in the opening sentence. 'Pretentious' cannot be connected to the inference derived from the first sentence. (4) Incorrect; the option has to qualify the opinion expressed in the opening sentence. 'Revolutionary' cannot be connected to the inference derived from the first sentence. (5) Incorrect; because there was 'qualified tolerance' and 'careful negotiation' in the European society, saying that it was 'choleric' would be totally incorrect.