On the Sublime

Longinus, active 1st centuryProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.4

Word count: 177K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.On the Sublime by active 1st century LonginusAuthor: Longinus, active 1st century,Language: English, Class: PA: Language and Literatures: Classical Languages and Literature, Release Date: Mar 10, 2006

Editor's review

On the Sublime is a profoundly influential work of classical literary criticism, attributed to Longinus in the first century AD. Rather than classifying figures of rhetoric, it asks what makes great speech move the human heart, proposing that the sublime arises from greatness of thought, strong emotion, appropriate figures, noble diction, and dignified composition, while warning against the failures of bombast and puerility. Its comments on Homer, Sappho, Demosthenes, and others preserve valuable fragments of classical texts and a discerning critical eye. As a classic of criticism, its value lies in offering a critical framework centered on emotional effect, from which later discussions of the sublime largely derive. It need not be read as a tightly systematic textbook; it is more like the essayistic judgments of a critic with taste, suited to repeated savoring by readers interested in classical literature, rhetoric, and aesthetics.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature students studying classical criticism and rhetoric
Readers researching the origins of the concept of the sublime in aesthetics
Writing and criticism enthusiasts seeking to sharpen their textual appreciation
General readers interested in ancient Greek and Roman literary criticism

Not a good fit for

Beginners seeking a systematic textbook of contemporary literary theory
Readers expecting the author's biography and a complete intellectual portrait
Those unfamiliar with classical authors and works and lacking background knowledge
Readers looking only for light entertainment

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the overall framework, then return to the chapters on the sources of the sublime
When encountering quotations from classical authors, learn their background first to appreciate the comments
Keep a pen to mark the author's criticisms of bombast and puerility, and compare them with your own writing
After finishing, look up later discussions of the sublime to trace its influence

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is the identity of Longinus, author of On the Sublime, certain?

Not entirely. The surviving text is attributed to Longinus, with sources describing him only as active in the first century AD; scholars still debate his exact identity and the date of composition, and he has sometimes been confused with later figures of the same name. It is best read as a classical critical work of uncertain authorship rather than the work of a writer with a definite biography.

Is the 'sublime' discussed here the same as what we call the magnificent today?

Related but not identical. The sublime in this work mainly refers to the intense emotion and震撼 effect great speech produces in listeners, rooted in greatness of thought and feeling rather than natural scenery or sheer scale. The later aesthetic concept of the sublime is broader; the two can be understood in comparison but should not be simply equated.

Can I read this book without a foundation in classical literature?

Yes, but with diminished effect. The book quotes extensively from Homer, Sappho, Demosthenes, and other classical authors; without familiarity with these names and works, the brilliance of the comments is hard to appreciate. Read introductory material first or choose an annotated edition before tackling the main text for a smoother experience.

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About the author

Longinus, active 1st century Author · Ancient Greek

Longinus (active 1st century CE) is generally regarded as the author of On the Sublime, a work of rhetoric and literary criticism from ancient Greece. Public information about his life is very limited, and his name, identity and the date of the work remain debated among later scholars; this does not prevent On the Sublime from being an important text in the history of Western literary criticism. Written in epistolary form, the book centers on the concept of the sublime and discusses how lofty thought, powerful emotion, the organization of figures of speech, dignified diction and structure combine to produce distinguished writing. The author compares and evaluates passages from ancient Greek poets and orators, and his style combines theoretical reflection with literary sensibility. The work deeply influenced later European literary theory, especially classical and Romantic discussions of genius, passion and the sublime.