Any thoughts on Matthew Arnold's "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time" ??​

However, the idea of real-life people living in what would become the united states for thousands of years before columbus ever left spain never dawned on me. what would be the best way to revise this sentence for greater clarity? a) however, the fact that columbus left spain thousands of years after people settled what would become the united states never dawned on me. b) it never dawned on me, however, the idea of real-life people living in what would become the united states for thousands of years before columbus ever left spain. c) however, the fact that people were already living in what would become the united states for thousands of years before columbus ever left spain never dawned on me. d) however, the idea never dawned on me that long before columbus ever left spain, real-life people lived for thousands of years in what would become the united states.

How can you paraphrase this, this is about golden age fallacies.these are all rational people who know that older is not necessarily better, but many are taken in by this fallacy and seem no longer able to reason with any degree of reliability

Which describes the effect the use of figurative language has on the tone of this excerpt? select all that apply