The sublime plays an important role in recent publications on Greek and Latin literature. On the one hand, scholars try to make sense of ancient Greek theories of the sublime, both in Longinus’ On ...Show moreThe sublime plays an important role in recent publications on Greek and Latin literature. On the one hand, scholars try to make sense of ancient Greek theories of the sublime, both in Longinus’ On the Sublime and in other rhetorical texts. On the other hand, the sublime, in its ancient and modern manifestations presented by thinkers from Longinus to Burke, Kant and Lyotard, has proved to be a productive tool for interpreting the works of Latin poets like Lucretius, Lucan and Seneca. But what is the sublime? And how does the Greek rhetorical sublime in Longinus relate to the Roman literary sublime in Lucretius and other poets? This article reviews James I. Porter, The Sublime in Antiquity: it evaluates Porter’s innovative approach to the ancient sublime, and considers the ways in which it might change our understanding of an important, but somewhat enigmatic concept. Show less
This article discusses the critical comparison (σύγκρισις) of the styles of Demosthenesand Cicero in Longinus, On the Sublime 12.4-5. Many readers have claimed that Longinushere presents... Show moreThis article discusses the critical comparison (σύγκρισις) of the styles of Demosthenesand Cicero in Longinus, On the Sublime 12.4-5. Many readers have claimed that Longinushere presents Demosthenes and Cicero as two different models of the sublime. A detailedanalysis of the passage, however, reveals that while the two are both creditedwith grandeur (μέγεθος), they are in fact not treated on a par with respect to sublimity(ὕψος). While the style of Demosthenes is described with keywords of Longinus’ conceptionof the sublime (ὕψος), Cicero’s style is consistently associated with the qualityof diffusion (χύσις), which is closely associated with amplification (αὔξησις). Longinus’discussion of Cicero may have pleased the Roman readers in his audience, as he ispresented as a canonical author of ‘great’ literature. We argue, however, that in the end,Longinus reserves the status of sublimity for his heroes of classical Greece. Show less
