employed judiciously, used at the right time and in the right place to heighten the grandeur of the text. If figures of speech and thought are separated from the emotions, then they will also become divorced from sublimity.

Noble diction. Diction involves word choice, and word choice must be used with care and discrimination if it is to partake of the sublime. Such words have great rhetorical value in that they have a seductive effect upon the reader. This is because they lend a sort of glittering charm to writing in keeping with its lofty, elevated subject matter.

Dignified word arrangement. The fifth source of the sublime is the arrangement of words. This is largely a synthesis of the previous four sources of the sublime that we’ve already examined. It is a harmonious blend of thoughts, emotions, figures of speech, and the words themselves.

The proper arrangement of words makes it possible for the reader or the hearer to share in the emotions of the speaker or writer. It also possesses a natural power of persuasion and giving people pleasure.

According to Longinus, author of the treatise On the Sublime (Περὶὕψους) who lived in the 1st or 3rd century AD, there are two different sources of sublimity: inborn sources and acquirable sources.

- Among the inborn sources, there are two. The first and most important source is “the power of forming great conceptions”, that is, lofty thoughts or concepts. Within this group of inborn sources Longinus also includes a “strong and enthusiastic passion”.

- Among the acquirable sources, Longinus includes three elements: a masterful use of certain rhetorical devices; the choice of the right lexicon (use of noble diction), and, finally, a “dignified and high composition”.

Essentially, Longinus thinks of the poet as an individual elevated in thought and feeling. He focuses more on inspired passion and loftiness of thought than on technical rules, which is noteworthy for a critic of his time.

In his work On The Sublime (Peri Hypsous), Longinus (or often called as pseudo-Longinus because of doubts of authorship) gives 5 sources of sublimity. These five sources are warranted for a work to become sublime. A work is "sublime" means it is extraordinary and great. In other words it has something that makes it inspirational and superior from other artistic creations. Longinus emphasizes the need of highness and elevation in style to give sublimity. Besides being aesthetic, his work is also an important basis of traditional literary criticism, distinct from that given by Plato, Aristotle, etc.

Now let us define these 5 principle sources that provide grandeur to any artistic work:

First and most important is the power of forming great conceptions…(On The Sublime)

Any work finds inception with a thought or an idea. Every work should be produced with high thoughts and grand ideas. It is obvious that with bad and corrupted thoughts or poor ideas, something good and of admirable quality can never be created. So the thoughts and ideas should be sublime to produce a sublime work.

Secondly, there is vehement and inspired passion…(On The Sublime)

Without true passion and emotion, sublimity cannot be achieved. For a work to become sublime, the passions behind it should be intense and should evoke inspiration.

Please note that these above two sources are based on the intuitive capacity of an artist. This cannot be achieved through any formal training. The remaining three I am listing now, however, are a result of artistic prowess.

The due formation of figures deals with two sorts of figures, first those of thought and secondly those of expression…(On The Sublime)

A good artist always decorates his work with good and right figures. The figures of speech should not be superficial decorations however. They should be correctly and carefully used.

Next there is noble diction…(On The Sublime)

For a work to become sublime, it is important to have a grand, noble diction. Diction means choice of words or language used. Now if someone has good ideas, strong emotions, etc. but cannot choose the right words, his work will lack beauty and sublimity, to be very simple.

The fifth cause of elevation — one which is the fitting conclusion of all that have preceded it — is dignified and elevated composition…(On The Sublime)

The last source of sublimity focuses on combining or ordering everything from ideas, emotions, figures and diction together with excellence and perfection such that there is harmony and dignity in the composition.

If a work lacks these things, it is bad or to the very least ordinary.             

Longinus equates sublimity with elevation of the soul and attributes the presence of elevation to five sources, further asserting that the sublime elevates the audience's souls and originates in the poet's soul because of an innate ability in, or inherent capacity for, sublimity. Longinus depicts the circumstance of the sublime as an avenue that originates with innate qualities of soul in the poet and imbues the poetry with sublimity that the audience hears to the affect of being elevated with sublimity of their own.
The sublime is synonymous with elevation, which is defined as nobleness, grandeur and loftiness of thought and feeling, and dignity.

The five sources of the sublime (of elevation) are from the innate inner qualities of the poet as well as the well-honed skill of the poet. The sources from within are an inspired passion and grandeur and loftiness of thought. The sources of skill are masterful use of rhetorical elements; dignified, noble diction, which encompasses phrasing; and inspiring poetic structure. By this, it is seen that Longinus depicts the poet as the most skilled in language structuring and the most elevated in thought and feeling. Longinus had a welcomed reception among Elizabethans after the rediscovery and printed edition of his work in 1554 and a later equally warm reception among the Romantics.

The aesthetic importance of sublimity is discussed by Longinus in Section IX of his treatise. In this section Longinus discusses the first essential source of elevated language, which, in his words, can be defined as "elevation of mind." This quality is only possible through the following injunction:

We must, therefore... nurture our souls... to thoughts sublime, and make them always pregnant, so to say, with noble inspiration.

"Noble inspiration" is vital to achieve because the aesthetic principles of sublimity can only be secured when it is "free from low and ignoble thoughts." There is a beauty in sublimity that makes it "admirable and worthy of immortality." Sublimity is something that is very closely linked to aesthetic principles of beauty and the ability to help humans transcend their limitations through a recognition of what is elevated and divine; it points the reader in other words to true examples of beauty as expressed in literature and the reader is transported as a result of surveying this beauty. Note the way in which Longinus describes sublimity as a state that is akin to producing a sensation similar to flight in its reader. This is only possible through the capture of the essence of beauty in its description.

The focus of this work, supposedly written by Longinus, although the majority of critics believe that it would have been another author who penned this work of early criticism, is the characteristics of sublime literature. These, the author lists and explores in turn. This text begins with a discussion about the relationship between "nature" and "art," or natural genius and learnt skills and talents. Having stated that natural genius is essential for sublime literature to be produced, but that this must also be coupled with "art" in the form of learnt skill, Longinus goes on to state the requisites of sublime literature, which can be identified in the impact such work has on the reader:

For, as if instinctively, our soul is uplifted by the true sublime; it takes a proud flight, and is filled with joy and vaunting, as though it had itself produced what it has heard.

Sublime literature, therefore, which is the focus of this early piece of literary criticism, is above all recognised by the emotional impact that it has on the audience. Longinus then states that there are five sources of "elevated language": creativity, passion, the use of figures of expression, noble diction and finally dignified composition. He then explores each in turn and looks at examples of what constitutes "sublime" literature and what does not. 

when we know that the sounds of a harp, ...  in symphony, often lay a wonderful spell on an audience ... can we doubt that composition (being a kind of harmony of that language which nature has taught us, and which reaches, not our ears only, but our very souls), ... enchants us, ... filling us with the sense of pomp and dignity and sublimity, ...? (Longinus)

One of Longinus' points was taht the harmony and symphony of words in musical and persuasive composition could stir the very soul (whereas music, he says, stirs only the ears and body). He says this along with diction creates dignity and sublimity.