On the Sublime

This is a difficult concept in the treatise, as Longinus uses but never clearly defines it. He begins by criticizing the common definition of the term (“a manner of expression which enhances the subject” [20]) as too broad and says that amplification involves such devices as “pauses,” “fresh starts,” and “increasing the effect at every step” (19). Amplification refers to a variety of elements in writing, including “the development of commonplaces, emotional intensification, emphasis on facts” (19), and other features.

Amplification is an element of greatness but does not in itself constitute great writing; indeed, when wrongly handled it can become “slack and hollow” (19). Longinus’s discussion of amplification is interrupted by a lacuna on page 20, and when the text resumes, he has moved on to a different topic (19-20).

From the Greek for “not linked,” this literary device leaves out connective words (like “and”), creating an urgent, breathless, passionate effect (31-33).

Discussed at length on Longinus defines frigidity as using language or expressions that are unworthy of the thought being expressed. He calls it the opposite fault to puerility (7-8).