Longinus’s Theory of Sublime

I. Introduction

On the Sublime is an important treatise of literary criticism by Longinus, originally, it was

written in Greek, and it wasn’t discovered until 16 th century. In his essay, Longinus gives a
detailed elucidation on five principal sources from which sublimity is derived. He says,
“Sublime is the image of greatness of mind”. The dignity, grandeur, and energy of a style
largely depend on a proper employment of images. Figures of speech play an important part in
producing Sublimity. The essay puts emphasis on ingenuity, excitement, imagination and
shocking artistic effects. Longinus’s ideas on Sublime are of great influence to Romantic
literature and Criticism. He was once regarded by Dryden as the greatest critic after Aristotle.

II. Sublime: Concept and Meaning

Sublime, according to the essay, “consists in a certain loftiness and excellence of

language”, it “is the image of greatness of mind”, wherever it occurs, only by sublime can the
greatest poets and prose-writers gain eminence and win themselves long-lasting fame. It “sways
every reader whether he is willingly or not”. A sublime thought, “if happily timed,
illuminate the entire subject vividly like a lightening-flash, and exhibit the whole power of
the orator in a moment of time”.

Sublimity is not innate; it can be acquired by instruction. The great passion can be controlled
by reasoning. Otherwise they will be in the same danger as a ship let drive without ballast. In
general, true sublimity always pleases and pleases all readers regardless of their difference in the
pursuits, of their manner of life, of their aspirations, their ages, and of their languages. Our souls
would be lifted up by the true sublimity.

III. The principal source of all sublimity

In the essay, Longinus enumerates five principle sources of sublime language, namely---

(1)Grandeur of thoughts;

Of the five sources, grandeur of thoughts is the most important of all. A loft cast of mind is a
“natural faculty rather than acquired”. Sublimity is “the image of the greatest soul”. Even
though a thought is a simple and uttered one, it sometimes can be admirable by the force of its
simplicity. True eloquence can be found in those whose spirit is generous and aspiring. A writer
whose thoughts are full of majesty, his words should be full of sublimity.

(2)A vigorous and spirited treatment of the passions;

These two conditions of sublimity depend mainly on natural endowments. Whereas those
which follow derive assistance from art. One cause of sublimity is the choice of the most striking
circumstances involved in whatever we are describing, the other is the power of afterwards
combining them into one animate whole.
 (3)A certain artifice in the employment of figures, which are of two kinds, figures
of thought and figures of speech;

Figures play an important part in producing sublimity if they are properly employed. But on
the other hand, “the use of figures has a peculiar tendency to rouse a suspicion of dishonesty,
to create an impression of treachery, scheming and false reasoning”. “The figures of
question and interrogation also possess a specific quality which tends to stir an audience
and give energy to the speaker’s words”. But nothing is conducive to energy as a combination
of different figures.

(4). Dignified expression, which is sub-divided into two aspects;

（a）The proper choose of words；

（b）The use of metaphors and other ornaments of diction;

In this respect, the author mentioned that juxtaposition of different case, the enumeration of
particulars, and the use of contrast and climax, add much vigour, give beauty and great elevation
to a style. The diction also gains greatly in diversity and movement by change of case, time,
person, number and gender.

(5) Majesty and elevation of structure;

If we separate the elements of a fine passage, their qualities are simultaneously dissipated
and evaporated, but when we join them together as an organic whole, and still further company
them by the bond of harmony, we can gain the power of tone.

IV. Faults which should be avoided in writing

In the essay, Longinus points out a few faults which we should avoid in writing.

Firstly---bombast. In this case, the writers are ambitious of a lofty style, but are afraid of
feebleness and poverty of language. They naturally slide into the opposite extreme—bombast.

Secondly---puerility. Unlike bombast, which transcendent the sublime, puerility is

diametrically opposed to grandeur, it is caused by pedantic habit of mind. This kind of fault is
made by the writer who is aiming at brilliancy, polish, and attractiveness.

Thirdly --- false sentiment or an ill-time and empty display of emotion. Under this
condition, the writer often endeavors to display his feelings, but unfortunately, the feelings he
expressed is too personal to call for any emotion, worst of all, has nothing to do with the subject.
 Lastly --- frigidity. Sometimes, the writer is well-learned and full of ingenuity, and he is
quiet a savvy writer, he is eager to strike out new thoughts but falls into frigidity—one of the
most childish absurdities. Such errors should not be permitted to deface the pages of an immortal
work, even though the writer has dramatic motives.

V． Conclusion．

The real value of Longinus’s treatise on sublime is that the writer put forward the definition
of sublime on aesthetic level by the first time, which is the greatest contribution Longinus made
to western literary criticism. The treatise is canonized by the European classists. In 1674, Nicolas
Boileau-Despreaux translated Longinus’s On the Sublime, to which, he added in 1693 certain
critical reflections, conforming the real value of the literary works that most of the readers
enjoyed. He claimed that only the appreciation of the afterworld can confirm the value of a work.
Moreover, many British and German men of letters were also influenced by Sublime. E.g. Milton
once claimed that Longinus was always the tutor he worshipped.