CHAP. I. blime and Pathetic. mand their sentiments or opinions: wherefore, as Longinus observes, it is not the tyrant of the Sudiffusing terror, whose character is sublime; but the man, whose exalted soul looks down upon empire, and scorns the transitory possessions, which it can bestow*. He displays real energy of mind; and, with that energy, we sympathize; in whatever manner, or to whatever end, it be exerted. The tyrant therefore may show it, as well as the philosopher; and, in that case, the character of the tyrant will be sublime; but not to those, who are under the actual impression of the terror, which he inspires: for it is as utterly impossible for a man at the same time, to sympathize with the effect and the cause, as it is for him to fill his cup, at the same time, from the mouth and the source of the river. Fear is the most humiliating and depressing of passions; and, when a person is under its influence, it is as unnatural for him to join in any sentiments of exultation with that which inspires it, as it would be for a man to share in the triumph or the feast of the lion, of which he was himself the victim and the prey. 47. All sublime feelings are, according to the principles of Longinus, which I have here endeavoured to illustrate and confirm, feelings * S. vii. CHAP. 1. Of the Su of exultation and expansion of the mind, tending to rapture and enthusiasm; and whether blime and they be excited by sympathy with external obPathetic. jects, or arise from the internal operations of the mind, they are still of the same nature. In grasping at infinity, the mind exercises the powers, before noticed, of multiplying without end; and, in so doing, it expands and exalts itself, by which means its feelings and sentiments become sublime. The same effects result from contemplating all vast and immense objects; such as very spacious plains, lakes, or forests; extensive ranges of extremely high mountains; mighty rivers; unbounded seas; and, above all, the endless expanse of unknown vacuity. 48. Upon a similar principle all works of great labour, expence, and magnificence are sublime; such as the wall of China; the colonnades of Palmyra; the pyramids of Egypt; the aqueducts of Rome; and, in short, all buildings of very great dimensions, or objects of very great richness and splendor: for, in contemplating them, the mind applies the ideas. of the greatness of exertion, necessary to produce such works, to the works themselves; and therefore feels them to be grand and sublime, as works of man; though, if compared with the works of nature, their dimensions may be small and contemptible. Great wealth, too, is so nearly allied to great power, that the contemplation of its splendor equally exalts and expands the imagination. Phidias's colossal statue of Jupiter in ivory and gold might have been equally well executed in plaster gilt; but its effect upon the spectators would have been very different, as the priests and hierophants of Elis well knew. Every person, who has attended the celebration of high mass at any considerable ecclesiastical establishment, must have felt how much the splendor and magnificence of the Roman catholic worship tends to exalt the spirit of devotion, and to inspire the soul with rapture and enthusiasm. Not only the impressive melody of the vocal and instrumental music, and the imposing solemnity of the ceremonies, but the pomp and brilliancy of the sacerdotal garments, and the rich and costly decorations of the altar, raise the character of religion, and give it an air of dignity and majesty unknown to any of the reformed churches. Even in dramatic exhibitions, we find that splendid dress, rich scenery, and pompous ceremony are absolutely necessary to support the dignity of tragedy; and, indeed, such is their effect, that they often serve as an universal substitute, and compensate for the want of every other merit. 49. Darkness, vacuity, silence, and all other absolute privations of the same kind, may also B B CHAP. I. Of the Sublime and Pathetic. CHAP. I. Pathetic. be sublime by partaking of infinity; which is Of the Su- equally a privation or negative existence: for bime and infinity is that which is without bounds, as darkness is that which is without light, vacuity that which is without substance, and silence that which is without sound. In contemplating each, the mind expands itself in the same manner; and, in expanding itself, will of course conceive grand and sublime ideas, if the imagination be in any degree susceptible of grandeur or sublimity. 50. All the great and terrible convulsions of nature; such as storms, tempests, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanos, &c. excite sublime ideas, and impress sublime sentiments by the prodigious exertions of energy and power, which they seem to display : for, though these objects are, in their nature, terrible, and generally known to be so, it is not this attribute of terror that contributes, in the smallest degree, to render them sublime. 51. As far as feeling or sentiment is concerned, and it is of feeling or sentiment only that we are speaking, that alone is terrible, which impresses some degree of fear. I may know an object to be terrible; that is, I may know it to possess the power of hurting or destroying: but this is knowledge, and not feeling or sentiment; and the object of that knowledge is power, and not terror; so that, if any sym CHAP. I. Of the Su blime and pathy results from it, it must be a sympathy with power only. That alone is actually terrible to me, which actually impresses me with fear: for, though I may know it to be danger- Pathetic. ous, when I am beyond its reach, I cannot feel that sentiment, which danger inspires, till I either am, or imagine myself to be, within it; and all agree that the effect of the sublime upon the mind is a sentiment of feeling, and not a result of science. 52. There is no image in poetry wrought up with more true sublimity and grandeur than the following of Virgil; but that it should be quoted as an instance of terror being the cause of the sublime is to me most unaccountable. Ipse pater, media nimborum in nocte, corusca * If sublimity is here in any degree the result of terror, the poet must have very ill understood the effect of his own imagery: for he expressly tells us that the effect of this dreadful explosion of thunder and lightning, upon those who felt it, was humble fear; and surely he could not, by humble fear, mean any sublime sentiment. The description, indeed, impresses us with such sentiments, because we sympathize. * Georg. I. 328. |