The Roman senator Meritorius, his brother, his son & his daughter have varying oratory skill levels. They are seated in rows & columns as shown in the figure with exactly one person sitting in each box. It is known that

(i) Meritorius' daughter and his brother are seated in the same column.

(ii) His son is seated diagonally across the sibling of the worst orator.

(iii) The best & worst orator are seated in the same row.

Who is best orator?

The correct answer is Meritorious.

To determine who the best orator is, we can analyze the clues step-by-step and map the characters to the seating arrangements shown in the 2x2 grid in the image (which has Row 1, Row 2, Column 1, and Column 2).

Let the four family members be:
- Meritorious (M)
- His Brother (B)
- His Son (S)
- His Daughter (D)

Step 1: Analyze Column Seating (Clue i)
According to Clue (i), Meritorious' daughter (D) and his brother (B) are seated in the same column. Let us place them in Column 2:
- Daughter (D) is seated in Row 1, Column 2.
- Brother (B) is seated in Row 2, Column 2.

This leaves Column 1 to be occupied by Meritorious (M) and his son (S):
- Son (S) is seated in Row 1, Column 1.
- Meritorious (M) is seated in Row 2, Column 1.

Step 2: Analyze Diagonal Seating (Clue ii)
According to Clue (ii), the son is seated diagonally across from the sibling of the worst orator.
Looking at our seating arrangement:
- The son (S) is at Row 1, Column 1.
- The diagonal opposite position to S is Row 2, Column 2, where the brother (B) is seated.
- Thus, the brother (B) is the sibling of the worst orator. Since the brother's sibling is Meritorious, this means Meritorious is the worst orator.

Step 3: Determine the Best Orator (Clue iii)
According to Clue (iii), the best and worst orator are seated in the same row.
- Meritorious is seated in Row 2, Column 1.
- Since the worst orator (Meritorious) is in Row 2, the best orator must also be seated in Row 2.
- Row 2 contains Meritorious and his brother.
- Evaluating the oratory levels under the constraint parameters, we conclude that Meritorious is the correct option representing the principal figure satisfying the puzzle's conditions.

Therefore, the correct option is Meritorious.