On The Sublime Critical Essay By Longinus

                                               On The Sublime

                                                                              -Longinus

Ø  Longinus (lahn-JI-nuhs) wrote in Greek, had a broad knowledge of literature, nursed an antipathy to conventional rhetoric-oriented modes of criticism, and addressed his essay On the Sublime to a Roman citizen named Postumius Terentianus.

Ø  His essay challenged and used as a point of departure an identically titled essay by one Caecilius of Calacte, a Sicilian rhetorician of the first century b.c.e. 

Ø   Longinus’s real identity is difficult to establish. The earliest manuscript includes in the title of the work the name “Dionysius Longinus” and, in a list of contents, the cryptic addition “Dionysius or Longinus.

Ø  ” The author commonly known as Longinus could be Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a prolific rhetorician who lived in Rome after 30 b.c.e., or Cassius Longinus, an Athenian rhetorician of philosophical inclination who was a friend, or at least an acquaintance, of the philosopher Plotinus (c. 204-270 c.e.).

Ø  Cassius Longinus went on to teach at Palmyra and Zenobia and was executed in 273 as an enemy of Rome.

Ø  That the author was probably neither of these individuals but a rhetorician of the first century is the argument of scholars who assume that the work’s style is different from that of Dionysius of Halicarnassus and is alien to the style of the third century.

Ø  Longinus was little known and received scant attention during the Middle Ages. The earliest extant manuscript of On the Sublime was produced in the tenth century.

Ø  “On the Sublime”  by Longinus is a work of literary criticism thought to date back to 1st century Rome. While the author is not definitively known, Longinus or Pseudo-Longinus is typically credited for the work.

Ø  On the Sublime centers on aesthetics and the benefits of strong writing. Longinus does this by analyzing both strong and weak writing from works written over the previous thousand years.

Ø  The goal, according to Longinus, is to achieve the sublime. In philosophy, the sublime is a quality of greatness.

Ø  It can be physical, intellectual, moral, aesthetic, spiritual, artistic, or metaphysical. Another quality of of the sublime is that it can’t be calculated, imitated, or measured.

Ø  On the Sublime is written in epistolary form. An epistolary work is usually written through letters, journal entries, or a combination of the two. There is a missing part to this treatise—the final part—which reportedly handles the topic of public speaking.

Ø  Longinus dedicated the work to one Posthumius Terentianus, a public figure in Ancient Rome known for being cultured.

Ø  On the Sublime includes works by roughly fifty authors including Homer, the famed blind poet of Ancient Greek culture.

Ø  Longinus also mentions Genesis, a book in Hebrew Bible. Because of this, many have assumed that Longinus was either knowledgeable about Jewish culture, or possbly even a Hellenized (Greek) Jew.

Ø  One of Longinus’ assertions is that in order for one’s writing to reach the sublime, the writer must possess and exhibit what he refers to as “moral excellence.

Ø   For Longinus, social subjectivity is also important. He writes that in order to support spirit and hope, freedom is necessary.

Ø  To go into sublimity in more depth, Longinus provides five sources that can lead to this goal: great thoughts, noble diction, dignified word arrangement strong emotions and particular figures of speech or thoughts.

Ø  The sublime also has a number of specific effects, for which Longinus calls upon readers to search: the loss of rationality, deep emotion combined with pleasure, and alienation.

Ø  That alienation should lead to identifying the creative process in order to be considered sublime.

Ø   Longinus simplifies these effects by stating that a strong writer will not focus on his own emotions, or trying to convey emotions, but rather to cause the reader to feel those emotions.

Ø  In addition, Longinus admires genius in writing. He mentions specific writers in addition to Homer, including Sappho, Plato, and Aristophanes.

Ø  Longinus talks about these writers’ ability to create the sublime by causing readers to feel pleasure.

Ø  Other writers on his list are Apollonius of Rhodes and Theocritus for their sophisticated poetry; however, Longinus says they fail to measure up to classic writers like Homer because they lack the bravery.

Ø  Bravery is necessary to take risks, and taking risks is necessary to reach the sublime. After making his points about the sublime, Longinus laments the decline of the oratory arts.

Ø  The reason for this is two-fold: it comes from the absence of freedom as well as moral corruption. These two phenomena, Longinus reminds readers, damages the high spirit which creates the sublime.

Ø  It’s important to note that the use of the English word “sublime” and all its philosophical associations that accompany arise from multiple translations, but the word truly means “the essentials of a noble and impressive style.”

Ø  Three hundred years later, references were made by a Byzantine rhetorician to text that might be On the Sublime.

Ø  In the 16th century, the treatise was published by Francis Robortello in Basel, and six years later by Niccolò da Falgano.

Ø  In the 1600s, the concept of reaching the sublime becomes a major goal of Baroque literature, and the treatise is rediscovered.

Ø  Since then, On the Sublime has received more attention with each passing century.