Explain a complex sentence with an example plz !

4.in those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. •type of figurative language: •meaning of figurative language: •effect on tone and mood: •effect on audience: choose out of these: hyperbole, irony, historical question, paradox, allusion, metaphor, personification, symbolism and simile

The missionaries who appear in the novel are colonists from a) britain b) portugal c) spain d) italy

I’m cruel tribute which characters action most advance the development of the plot?