Longinus > Quotes

“In great attempts it is glorious even to fail”
― Cassius Longinus

“Sublime natures are seldom clean!”
― Longinus, Longinus: On the Sublime

“For our soul is raised out of nature through the truly sublime, sways with high spirits, and is filled with proud joy, as if itself had created what it hears.”
― Longinus, On the Sublime

“Lo que es sublime no lleva a los oyentes a la persuasión sino a un estado de éxtasis; un discurso imponente, con el hechizo que arroja sobre nosotros, siempre prevalece sobre aquel que busca persuasión y gratificación. Usualmente podemos controlar nuestras creencias, pero la influencia de lo sublime trae consigo un poder y una fuerza irresistibles, imposibles de soportar, que reinan con dominio supremo sobre cada oyente…”
― Longino

“È allora che l'arte è perfetta, quando sembra esser natura; mentre la natura raggiunge il suo scopo quando presuppone l'arte senza che ce ne accorgiamo.”
― Pseudo Longino, Del sublime: L'arte dell'eloquenza

“What then did those immortals see, the writers who aimed at all which is greatest and scorned the accuracy which lies in every detail? They saw many other things and they also saw this, that Nature determined man to be no low or ignoble animal; but introducing us into life and this entire universe as into some vast assemblage, to be spectators, in a sort, of her entirety, and most ardent competitors, did then implant in our souls an invincible and eternal love of that which is great and, by our own standard, more devine. Therefore it is, that for the speculation and thought which are within the scope of human endeavour not all the universe together is sufficient, our conceptions often pass beyond the bounds which limit it; and if a man were to look upon life all around, and see how in all things the extraordinary, the great, the beautiful stand supreme, he will at once know for what ends we have been born.”
― Longinus, On Great Writing (On the Sublime)

“What is useful and necessary men regard as common place, while they reserve their admiration for that which is astounding”
― Longinus

“Grandi sono i discorsi di chi ha profondo il pensiero.”
― Longinus, On Great Writing (On the Sublime)