Ecstatic Experience in Pseudo-Longinus’s On the Sublime

Abstract

Although Pseudo-Longinus’s work is basically a study of the theory and practice of rhetorics in public discourse, its main concern with the sublime reaches beyond the limits of its initial frame of reference. An attempt to understand the sublime, the wonderful that lies beyond the realm of rational rhetorical structures constitutes the metaphysical framework of the text. The paper surveys one aspect of the sublime: its ability to make the receiver ecstatic. How can the sublime trigger the state of ecstasy?