Aesthetica

3) Sublime cogitandi genus verisimilitudinem, § 22. sed eam proprie tantum sectatur, quae ingeniis superioribus et animis erectioribus comprehendi probarique possit, § 288. licet eadem plebeculae sit vix credibilis, § 286. nec apud nobiles sic satis animos facilem inveniat fidem. § 213. Quam suam verisimilitudinem aut tacitae spectatoris anatheoresei, § 177. relinquit, § 289. aut eam adeo luculenter probat, §§ 291–294. ut abhorrens primo, vel maxime a sensibus nostris, nunc tandem, non solum, non odium, sed etiam admirationem et desiderium sui pariat veritas. § 293.

3) The sublime kind of thinking pursues verisimilitude, § 22, but properly only that verisimilitude which can be comprehended and approved by superior talents and more erect minds, § 288, even though that same thing is scarcely credible to the little populace, § 286, and does not easily find ready belief among minds noble enough in this way, § 213. This verisimilitude of its own it either leaves to the tacit anatheoresis, reconsideration, of the spectator, § 177, § 289, or it proves it so luminously, §§ 291–294, that truth, at first abhorrent, or most of all abhorrent, to our senses, now finally produces not only no hatred, but even admiration and desire for itself, § 293.

3) Sublime cogitandi genus verisimilitudinem, § 22. sed eam proprie tantum sectatur, quae ingeniis superioribus et animis erectioribus comprehendi probarique possit, § 288. licet eadem plebeculae sit vix credibilis, § 286. nec apud nobiles sic satis animos facilem inveniat fidem. § 213. Quam suam verisimilitudinem aut tacitae spectatoris anatheoresei, § 177. relinquit, § 289. aut eam adeo luculenter probat, §§ 291–294. ut abhorrens primo, vel maxime a sensibus nostris, nunc tandem, non solum, non odium, sed etiam admirationem et desiderium sui pariat veritas. § 293.

3) The sublime kind of thinking pursues verisimilitude, § 22, but properly only that verisimilitude which can be comprehended and approved by superior talents and more erect minds, § 288, even though that same thing is scarcely credible to the little populace, § 286, and does not easily find ready belief among minds noble enough in this way, § 213. This verisimilitude of its own it either leaves to the tacit anatheoresis, reconsideration, of the spectator, § 177, § 289, or it proves it so luminously, §§ 291–294, that truth, at first abhorrent, or most of all abhorrent, to our senses, now finally produces not only no hatred, but even admiration and desire for itself, § 293.

Sublime Pompeii dictum, quum dissuadente nauta per tempestatem navem conscenderet:

Pompey's sublime saying, when, although a sailor was dissuading him, he boarded a ship through a storm,

contradictionis apertae damnat Gallorum nonnemo. Neque defendat, Pompeio aequalis animus, nec accuset Caesar aliquis, vel hostis. Ambo enim pulcre intelligunt. §§ 288, 301.

some Gaul condemns as an open contradiction. Let neither a mind equal to Pompey defend it, nor some Caesar or enemy accuse it. For both understand beautifully, §§ 288 and 301.

Cic. qu. ac. l. 7. Quod bonum quale sit, sane, non solus Epicurus verbis negat

Cicero, Academic Questions, book 1, 7. What sort of good that is, certainly not Epicurus alone denies in words that

sed plures ad hunc usque diem factis, inter eos etiam, in quibus summos mores et virtutem excellentem suspicetur aestheticus. Neque tamen illius nuda veritas acute, argute, obscure, uti videatur analogo rationis, § 121. studio philosophiae severiori disseritur tantum, quo nullum Varroni Platonique videatur

but many do so in deeds even to this day, among them even persons in whom the aesthetician would suspect the highest morals and excellent virtue. And yet the naked truth of that good is not merely discussed "acutely, keenly, obscurely," as it may seem to the analogue of reason, § 121,

sed iam etiam aestheticis et vere sublimibus tot meditationibus est exposita, et exponitur paene quotidie, eiusdem verisimilitudo, ut ex hac parte rerum humanarum parum aut nihil superesse desiderandum videatur. § 301.

but now its verisimilitude has also been set forth in so many aesthetic and truly sublime meditations, and is set forth almost daily, that from this side of human affairs little or nothing seems to remain to be desired, § 301.

Sublime Pompeii dictum, quum dissuadente nauta per tempestatem navem conscenderet:

Pompey's sublime saying, when, although a sailor was dissuading him, he boarded a ship through a storm,

contradictionis apertae damnat Gallorum nonnemo.

some Gaul condemns as an open contradiction.

Neque defendat, Pompeio aequalis animus, nec accuset Caesar aliquis, vel hostis.

Let neither a mind equal to Pompey defend it, nor some Caesar or enemy accuse it.

Ambo enim pulcre intelligunt. §§ 288, 301.

For both understand beautifully, §§ 288 and 301.

Cic. qu. ac. l. 7. Quod bonum quale sit, sane, non solus Epicurus verbis negat

Cicero, Academic Questions, book 1, 7. What sort of good that is, certainly not Epicurus alone denies in words that

sed plures ad hunc usque diem factis, inter eos etiam, in quibus summos mores et virtutem excellentem suspicetur aestheticus.

but many do so in deeds even to this day, among them even persons in whom the aesthetician would suspect the highest morals and excellent virtue.

Neque tamen illius nuda veritas acute, argute, obscure, uti videatur analogo rationis, § 121. studio philosophiae severiori disseritur tantum, quo nullum Varroni Platonique videatur

And yet the naked truth of that good is not merely discussed "acutely, keenly, obscurely," as it may seem to the analogue of reason, § 121,

sed iam etiam aestheticis et vere sublimibus tot meditationibus est exposita, et exponitur paene quotidie, eiusdem verisimilitudo, ut ex hac parte rerum humanarum parum aut nihil superesse desiderandum videatur. § 301.

but now its verisimilitude has also been set forth in so many aesthetic and truly sublime meditations, and is set forth almost daily, that from this side of human affairs little or nothing seems to remain to be desired, § 301.

4) Summa in luce magnum hoc exsplendescit cogitationum genus, § 22. sed in ea, cui ferendae, cui capiendae, cui fruendae potissimum aquilarum oculi requirantur, § 288. Quos aliquando iam supponit, § 289. et eo splendore satiat, ad quem ipsa caecutiat Minervae noctua, aliquando mira arte naturaliter bonos nondum tot radiis imbibendis adsuetos, vel etiam desuetos iterum, ita sensim allicit, et blande pascendo simul acuit atque confirmat, ut tandem ibi solem meridianum, plana ac perspicua omnia mirentur, ubi caecitatem et tenebras et obscuritatem non ita multo ante sibi deprehendere visi erant. § 291.

4) This great kind of thoughts shines forth in the greatest light, § 22, but in that light for bearing, grasping, and enjoying which the eyes of eagles are especially required, § 288. Sometimes it already presupposes these eyes, § 289, and satisfies them with that splendor at which Minerva's own owl becomes dim-sighted; sometimes, by wonderful art, it gradually entices naturally good persons who are not yet accustomed to drinking in so many rays, or who have again become unaccustomed, and by gentle feeding at the same time sharpens and strengthens them, so that at last they marvel there at the noonday sun and at everything plain and perspicuous, where not so very long before they had seemed to themselves to detect blindness, darkness, and obscurity, § 291.

4) Summa in luce magnum hoc exsplendescit cogitationum genus, § 22. sed in ea, cui ferendae, cui capiendae, cui fruendae potissimum aquilarum oculi requirantur, § 288. Quos aliquando iam supponit, § 289. et eo splendore satiat, ad quem ipsa caecutiat Minervae noctua, aliquando mira arte naturaliter bonos nondum tot radiis imbibendis adsuetos, vel etiam desuetos iterum, ita sensim allicit, et blande pascendo simul acuit atque confirmat, ut tandem ibi solem meridianum, plana ac perspicua omnia mirentur, ubi caecitatem et tenebras et obscuritatem non ita multo ante sibi deprehendere visi erant. § 291.

4) This great kind of thoughts shines forth in the greatest light, § 22, but in that light for bearing, grasping, and enjoying which the eyes of eagles are especially required, § 288. Sometimes it already presupposes these eyes, § 289, and satisfies them with that splendor at which Minerva's own owl becomes dim-sighted; sometimes, by wonderful art, it gradually entices naturally good persons who are not yet accustomed to drinking in so many rays, or who have again become unaccustomed, and by gentle feeding at the same time sharpens and strengthens them, so that at last they marvel there at the noonday sun and at everything plain and perspicuous, where not so very long before they had seemed to themselves to detect blindness, darkness, and obscurity, § 291.

Ut hanc verissimam sublimium lucem, obscuritatem apparentem, possis in exemplo dignoscere a tenebris, lege, sis, vaticinium Sibyllae Aen. VI. 83–97. ubi privilegium quasi poeta habuisse obliviscendi verae perspicuitatis ob verisimilem oraculorum caliginem. Quamvis et ipse dicat

So that you may be able, in an example, to distinguish this truest light of sublime things, apparent obscurity, from darkness, please read the prophecy of the Sibyl, Aeneid VI.83–97, where the poet seems to have had, as it were, the privilege of forgetting true perspicuity because of the plausible murk of oracles. Although he himself says,

tamen deprehendes vere sublimia, quae nec nunc, quid sibi velint, quantumque habeant ponderis, quivis ex plebe litteratorum intelligat, interim nihil obscuritatis in verbis et ratione cogitandi, praeter id, quod in futuris ordinarium est, et ob deficientem omnimodae determinationis eorundem notitiam in homine, vel maximo, mero tamen homine, vehementer necessarium, adeoque post eventum et impletionem historiae fabulave perito satis pervium.

you will nevertheless detect truly sublime things, whose meaning and whose weight not even now any man from the rank of literary folk understands; meanwhile there is nothing obscure in the words and manner of thinking except what is ordinary in future things and, because knowledge of their complete determination is lacking in a human being, even the greatest, yet still merely human, extremely necessary; and therefore after the event and fulfillment, it is sufficiently accessible to one skilled in history or fable.

Ut hanc verissimam sublimium lucem, obscuritatem apparentem, possis in exemplo dignoscere a tenebris, lege, sis, vaticinium Sibyllae Aen. VI. 83–97. ubi privilegium quasi poeta habuisse obliviscendi verae perspicuitatis ob verisimilem oraculorum caliginem.

So that you may be able, in an example, to distinguish this truest light of sublime things, apparent obscurity, from darkness, please read the prophecy of the Sibyl, Aeneid VI.83–97, where the poet seems to have had, as it were, the privilege of forgetting true perspicuity because of the plausible murk of oracles.

Quamvis et ipse dicat

Although he himself says,

tamen deprehendes vere sublimia, quae nec nunc, quid sibi velint, quantumque habeant ponderis, quivis ex plebe litteratorum intelligat, interim nihil obscuritatis in verbis et ratione cogitandi, praeter id, quod in futuris ordinarium est, et ob deficientem omnimodae determinationis eorundem notitiam in homine, vel maximo, mero tamen homine, vehementer necessarium, adeoque post eventum et impletionem historiae fabulave perito satis pervium.

you will nevertheless detect truly sublime things, whose meaning and whose weight not even now any man from the rank of literary folk understands; meanwhile there is nothing obscure in the words and manner of thinking except what is ordinary in future things and, because knowledge of their complete determination is lacking in a human being, even the greatest, yet still merely human, extremely necessary; and therefore after the event and fulfillment, it is sufficiently accessible to one skilled in history or fable.

5) Sublime cogitandi genus persuadet, § 22. sed iis persuadendis tantum, certe potissimum, laborat, quorum iam intimis praecordiis insevit virtutis rectorumque morum semina, cum certitudine, magnitudo pectoris, § 45. insignior. Quibus non cognita solum, sed et ipsorum caussa non indigentia probationibus quum insint principia: his nunc tribus, quod aiunt verbis, aut omnino vel unico, instruit, quasi immotis fundamentis suam persuasionem brevissimis, nunc pro diversa obiectorum suorum personalium conditione, §§ 289–294. tot pondera, tot sententias, tot firmamenta congerit in certius reddendum suum thema, non illa trita, sed magni quid semper spirantia, ut maiores animi plenissime persuadeantur, minores obruantur, et ad prudentissimum, quod ab ipsis sperari potest, ad silentium compellantur.

5) The sublime kind of thinking persuades, § 22, but it labors only, certainly chiefly, at persuading those in whose innermost breasts a rather notable greatness of heart, § 45, has already sown the seeds of virtue and right morals, with certainty. Since in them there are principles not only known but also, for their own sake, not in need of proofs, it now instructs these persons, as they say, in three words, or indeed even in one, with its persuasion in the briefest terms, as though the foundations were unmoved; now, according to the diverse condition of its personal objects, §§ 289–294, it heaps up so many weights, so many maxims, so many supports for rendering its theme more certain, not those worn-out ones, but ones always breathing something great, so that greater souls are most fully persuaded, lesser ones are overwhelmed, and are compelled to the most prudent thing that can be hoped for from them, to silence.

5) Sublime cogitandi genus persuadet, § 22. sed iis persuadendis tantum, certe potissimum, laborat, quorum iam intimis praecordiis insevit virtutis rectorumque morum semina, cum certitudine, magnitudo pectoris, § 45. insignior.

5) The sublime kind of thinking persuades, § 22, but it labors only, certainly chiefly, at persuading those in whose innermost breasts a rather notable greatness of heart, § 45, has already sown the seeds of virtue and right morals, with certainty.

Quibus non cognita solum, sed et ipsorum caussa non indigentia probationibus quum insint principia: his nunc tribus, quod aiunt verbis, aut omnino vel unico, instruit, quasi immotis fundamentis suam persuasionem brevissimis, nunc pro diversa obiectorum suorum personalium conditione, §§ 289–294. tot pondera, tot sententias, tot firmamenta congerit in certius reddendum suum thema, non illa trita, sed magni quid semper spirantia, ut maiores animi plenissime persuadeantur, minores obruantur, et ad prudentissimum, quod ab ipsis sperari potest, ad silentium compellantur.

Since in them there are principles not only known but also, for their own sake, not in need of proofs, it now instructs these persons, as they say, in three words, or indeed even in one, with its persuasion in the briefest terms, as though the foundations were unmoved; now, according to the diverse condition of its personal objects, §§ 289–294, it heaps up so many weights, so many maxims, so many supports for rendering its theme more certain, not those worn-out ones, but ones always breathing something great, so that greater souls are most fully persuaded, lesser ones are overwhelmed, and are compelled to the most prudent thing that can be hoped for from them, to silence.

Exemplum persuasionis, et eius quidem efficacissimae, per unam vocem habet Suetonius in Caesare. 70.

An example of persuasion, and indeed of the most efficacious persuasion, through one word, Suetonius has in Caesar, 70.

Paullo fusius persuasit idem Caesar, verae sublimitatis aestheticae peritus, metum imminentis hostis suos deponere amplificando ementiendoque copiarum eius numerum, 66.

A little more fully the same Caesar, skilled in true aesthetic sublimity, persuaded his men to lay aside fear of the threatening enemy by amplifying and falsely inventing the number of his forces, 66.

Exemplum persuasionis, et eius quidem efficacissimae, per unam vocem habet Suetonius in Caesare. 70.

An example of persuasion, and indeed of the most efficacious persuasion, through one word, Suetonius has in Caesar, 70.

Paullo fusius persuasit idem Caesar, verae sublimitatis aestheticae peritus, metum imminentis hostis suos deponere amplificando ementiendoque copiarum eius numerum, 66.

A little more fully the same Caesar, skilled in true aesthetic sublimity, persuaded his men to lay aside fear of the threatening enemy by amplifying and falsely inventing the number of his forces, 66.

Pollio Asinius parum integra veritate compositos putat commentarios Caesaris, 56. quantum tamen inest plerisque, quae scribit, persuasionis? Putares eos legens rectissime fecisse, qui, Catullo si fides est, nihil potuit,

Asinius Pollio thinks that Caesar's commentaries were composed with truth not quite intact, 56; yet how much persuasion is in most things that he writes? Reading them, you would think that those had acted most rightly who, if Catullus is to be trusted, could do nothing

Non deterreor eorum opinione, qui hos commentarios humiles iudicant, quo minus eorum heic mentionem faciam. Quoniam eorum verba satis et pueri capiunt et aliquem sensum, quantum possunt pro aetate, non sunt ideo humiles, non tenue cogitandi genus demonstrant; et, nisi omnem tibi historiam placeat medium cogitandi genus amplecti debere, § 267. nullus dubito, quin ipsis aequabile quidem cogitandi genus, §§ 267, 268. et temperatum § 270. adscribam, et, cum Cicerone, nudum, rectum, ac omni ornatu orationis, tanquam veste detracta, venustum, ita tamen, qua res, sublime, ut, dum voluit (aut velle simulavit) alios habere parata, unde sumerent, qui vellent scribere historiam, ineptis gratum forsasse fecerit, qui illa volunt calamistris inurere, sanos quidem homines a scribendo deterruerit.

I am not deterred by the opinion of those who judge these commentaries humble, so as not to mention them here. Since their words are grasped well enough even by boys, and some sense too, as much as they can grasp for their age, they are not therefore humble; they do not display a thin kind of thinking. And, unless it please you that all history must embrace the middle kind of thinking, § 267, I do not doubt at all that I should ascribe to them an equable kind of thinking, §§ 267 and 268, and a tempered kind, § 270, and, with Cicero, a naked, straight, and charming style, all ornament of speech stripped away as though a garment had been removed; yet, as to the subject matter, it is sublime. Thus, while he wished (or pretended to wish) that others should have materials ready from which those who wished to write history might draw, he perhaps gratified the foolish who want to curl those materials with curling irons, but he deterred sound men from writing.

Pollio Asinius parum integra veritate compositos putat commentarios Caesaris, 56. quantum tamen inest plerisque, quae scribit, persuasionis?

Asinius Pollio thinks that Caesar's commentaries were composed with truth not quite intact, 56; yet how much persuasion is in most things that he writes?

Putares eos legens rectissime fecisse, qui, Catullo si fides est, nihil potuit,

Reading them, you would think that those had acted most rightly who, if Catullus is to be trusted, could do nothing

Non deterreor eorum opinione, qui hos commentarios humiles iudicant, quo minus eorum heic mentionem faciam.

I am not deterred by the opinion of those who judge these commentaries humble, so as not to mention them here.

Quoniam eorum verba satis et pueri capiunt et aliquem sensum, quantum possunt pro aetate, non sunt ideo humiles, non tenue cogitandi genus demonstrant; et, nisi omnem tibi historiam placeat medium cogitandi genus amplecti debere, § 267. nullus dubito, quin ipsis aequabile quidem cogitandi genus, §§ 267, 268. et temperatum § 270. adscribam, et, cum Cicerone, nudum, rectum, ac omni ornatu orationis, tanquam veste detracta, venustum, ita tamen, qua res, sublime, ut, dum voluit (aut velle simulavit) alios habere parata, unde sumerent, qui vellent scribere historiam, ineptis gratum forsasse fecerit, qui illa volunt calamistris inurere, sanos quidem homines a scribendo deterruerit.

Since their words are grasped well enough even by boys, and some sense too, as much as they can grasp for their age, they are not therefore humble; they do not display a thin kind of thinking. And, unless it please you that all history must embrace the middle kind of thinking, § 267, I do not doubt at all that I should ascribe to them an equable kind of thinking, §§ 267 and 268, and a tempered kind, § 270, and, with Cicero, a naked, straight, and charming style, all ornament of speech stripped away as though a garment had been removed; yet, as to the subject matter, it is sublime. Thus, while he wished (or pretended to wish) that others should have materials ready from which those who wished to write history might draw, he perhaps gratified the foolish who want to curl those materials with curling irons, but he deterred sound men from writing.

6) Sublime genus cogitationum in eo regnat, ut animos, sed generosioris impetus capaciores, §§ 289–294. nunc in summam inflammationem et divinum paene furorem incitare, nunc a turbulentissimis animi commotionibus ex re quapiam minutula ortis retrahere decoram ad serenitatem et altioris spiritus tranquillitatem valeat, § 288. prout, vel hic, vel ille status animorum heroibus est convenientior. § 213.

6) The sublime kind of thoughts reigns in this: that it can incite souls, but souls more capable of a more generous impulse, §§ 289–294, now into the highest inflammation and an almost divine frenzy, now draw them back from the most turbulent commotions of soul arising from some rather petty thing to a becoming serenity and to the tranquility of a higher spirit, § 288, according as either this or that state of souls is more fitting for heroes, § 213.

6) Sublime genus cogitationum in eo regnat, ut animos, sed generosioris impetus capaciores, §§ 289–294. nunc in summam inflammationem et divinum paene furorem incitare, nunc a turbulentissimis animi commotionibus ex re quapiam minutula ortis retrahere decoram ad serenitatem et altioris spiritus tranquillitatem valeat, § 288. prout, vel hic, vel ille status animorum heroibus est convenientior. § 213.

6) The sublime kind of thoughts reigns in this: that it can incite souls, but souls more capable of a more generous impulse, §§ 289–294, now into the highest inflammation and an almost divine frenzy, now draw them back from the most turbulent commotions of soul arising from some rather petty thing to a becoming serenity and to the tranquility of a higher spirit, § 288, according as either this or that state of souls is more fitting for heroes, § 213.

Aeneas, l. II. frustra dissuadente Hectore in somnis, v. 295.

Aeneas, in book II, with Hector in dreams dissuading him in vain, v. 295, "takes up arms, mad";

v. 315.

v. 315. By the words of Otriades he is carried into flames and arms,

v. 338.
Addentes se socios, per lunam oblatos, alloquitur:

v. 338. When companions, offered by the moon, add themselves, he addresses them: "Thus frenzy was added to the spirits of the young men," v. 355. Still Aeneas

v. 355.
Adhuc furiata mente fertur Aeneas v. 588. et est
dignus vindice nodus,
pium heroa a defensione patriae retrahere. En! adest deus, mater, dextra prehendens, et orationem suam, animum pectusque filii mulcentem, ecstatica visione corroborans. v. 589–625.

v. 588, and it is "a knot worthy of an avenger" to draw the pious hero back from the defense of his fatherland. Look: the god is present, his mother, grasping his right hand and strengthening her speech, which soothes the soul and breast of her son, by an ecstatic vision, vv. 589–625.

Aeneas, l. II. frustra dissuadente Hectore in somnis, v. 295.

Aeneas, in book II, with Hector in dreams dissuading him in vain, v. 295, "takes up arms, mad";

v. 315.

v. 315. By the words of Otriades he is carried into flames and arms,

v. 338.

v. 338.

Addentes se socios, per lunam oblatos, alloquitur:

When companions, offered by the moon, add themselves, he addresses them: "Thus frenzy was added to the spirits of the young men," v. 355. Still Aeneas

v. 355.
Adhuc furiata mente fertur Aeneas v. 588. et est
dignus vindice nodus,
pium heroa a defensione patriae retrahere.

v. 588, and it is "a knot worthy of an avenger" to draw the pious hero back from the defense of his fatherland.

En! adest deus, mater, dextra prehendens, et orationem suam, animum pectusque filii mulcentem, ecstatica visione corroborans. v. 589–625.

Look: the god is present, his mother, grasping his right hand and strengthening her speech, which soothes the soul and breast of her son, by an ecstatic vision, vv. 589–625.

Sectio XXII. Vitia Sublimi Opposita.
In cogitanda grandi materia cavendum est. II. Quartum Βάθους (manifesti) genus, in quo statim appareat magnitudine obiectorum comparativa et generice maxima, § 207. minores et inferiores esse mente formatas cogitationes, § 217. In quo 4 denuo species facili negotio detegas: 1) si in maximis generice denuo excellentia cogitentur quidem maximis generatim satis apta dignaque ratione, sed non adeo excellente, ac ipsa themata mereri videantur, 2) si silvae arbustis, 3) si silvae myricis exaequentur 4) si summa deprimantur omnino humum usque et in meras nugas intra animum venuste, si diis placet, cogitaturi redigantur. Ultima species tertiam classem nugatorum in re seria constituit, et eam quidem turpissimam, § 245.

Section XXII. Vices Opposed to the Sublime.
In thinking grand material one must beware. II. The fourth kind of βάθος, of manifest lowness, is that in which, from the comparative and generically greatest magnitude of the objects, § 207, it at once appears that the thoughts formed by the mind are smaller and inferior, § 217. In it you may again easily detect four species: 1) if in generically greatest things excellence is indeed thought in a manner generally enough suited and worthy for the greatest things, but not so excellently as the themes themselves seem to deserve; 2) if forests are equated with shrubs; 3) if forests are equated with tamarisks; 4) if the highest things are wholly depressed right down to the ground and reduced into mere trifles within the mind of one who is, if it please the gods, about to think charmingly. The last species constitutes the third class of triflers in a serious matter, and indeed the most shameful class, § 245.

Sectio XXII. Vitia Sublimi Opposita.

Section XXII. Vices Opposed to the Sublime.

In cogitanda grandi materia cavendum est.

In thinking grand material one must beware.

II. Quartum Βάθους (manifesti) genus, in quo statim appareat magnitudine obiectorum comparativa et generice maxima, § 207. minores et inferiores esse mente formatas cogitationes, § 217. In quo 4 denuo species facili negotio detegas: 1) si in maximis generice denuo excellentia cogitentur quidem maximis generatim satis apta dignaque ratione, sed non adeo excellente, ac ipsa themata mereri videantur, 2) si silvae arbustis, 3) si silvae myricis exaequentur 4) si summa deprimantur omnino humum usque et in meras nugas intra animum venuste, si diis placet, cogitaturi redigantur.

II. The fourth kind of βάθος, of manifest lowness, is that in which, from the comparative and generically greatest magnitude of the objects, § 207, it at once appears that the thoughts formed by the mind are smaller and inferior, § 217. In it you may again easily detect four species: 1) if in generically greatest things excellence is indeed thought in a manner generally enough suited and worthy for the greatest things, but not so excellently as the themes themselves seem to deserve; 2) if forests are equated with shrubs; 3) if forests are equated with tamarisks; 4) if the highest things are wholly depressed right down to the ground and reduced into mere trifles within the mind of one who is, if it please the gods, about to think charmingly.

Ultima species tertiam classem nugatorum in re seria constituit, et eam quidem turpissimam, § 245.

The last species constitutes the third class of triflers in a serious matter, and indeed the most shameful class, § 245.