Longinus (or Pseudo-Longinus), On the Sublime translation by W. H. Fyfe, revised by Donald Russell (1995), included in vol. 199 of the Loeb Classical Library, Ch. 8, p. 181.
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There are, one may say, some five most productive sources of the sublime in literature, the common groundwork, as it were, of all five being competence in speaking, without which nothing can be done. The first and most powerful is the power of grand conceptions... and the second is the inspiration of vehement emotion.
— Longinus on Sublime (philosophy)
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "There are, one may say, some five most productive sources of the sublime in literature, the common groundwork, as it were, of all five being competence in speaking, without which nothing can be done. The first and most powerful is the power of grand conceptions... and the second is the inspiration of vehement emotion." in the context of "Longinus (or Pseudo-Longinus), On the Sublime translation by W. H. Fyfe, revised by Donald Russell (1995), included in vol. 199 of the Loeb Classical Library, Ch. 8, p. 181." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
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Source: Wikiquote: "Sublime (philosophy)" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Longinus
Longinus (or Pseudo-Longinus) is the name conventionally given to the author of an influential work of literary criticism, On the Sublime, the author's real name being unknown. He wrote in Greek and probably lived in the 1st century AD.
About Longinus
Longinus (or Pseudo-Longinus) is the name conventionally given to the author of an influential work of literary criticism, On the Sublime, the author's real name being unknown. He wrote in Greek and probably lived in the 1st century AD.
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