Sublime

What do you find sublime? I want to know.


I.e. (from Webster’s 1913 dictionary:)

  1. \Sub*lime”\, a. [Compar. {Sublimer}; superl.
    {Sublimest}.] [L. sublimis; sub under + (perhaps) a word akin
    to limen lintel, sill, thus meaning, up to the lintel: cf. F.
    sublime. Cf. {Eliminate}.]

    1. Lifted up; high in place; exalted aloft; uplifted; lofty.

      Sublime on these a tower of steel is reared.
      –Dryden.

    2. Distinguished by lofty or noble traits; eminent; — said
      of persons. “The sublime Julian leader.” –De Quincey.

    3. Awakening or expressing the emotion of awe, adoration,
      veneration, heroic resolve, etc.; dignified; grand;
      solemn; stately; — said of an impressive object in
      nature, of an action, of a discourse, of a work of art, of
      a spectacle, etc.; as, sublime scenery; a sublime deed.

      Easy in words thy style, in sense sublime. –Prior.

      Know how sublime a thing it is To suffer and be
      strong. –Longfellow.

    4. Elevated by joy; elate. [Poetic]

      Their hearts were jocund and sublime, Drunk with
      idolatry, drunk with wine. –Milton.

    5. Lofty of mien; haughty; proud. [Poetic] “Countenance
      sublime and insolent.” –Spenser.

      His fair, large front and eye sublime declared
      Absolute rule. –Milton.

      Syn: Exalted; lofty; noble; majestic. See {Grand}.

  2. \Sub*lime”\, n.
    That which is sublime; — with the definite article; as:

    1. A grand or lofty style in speaking or writing; a style
      that expresses lofty conceptions.

      The sublime rises from the nobleness of thoughts,
      the magnificence of words, or the harmonious and
      lively turn of the phrase. –Addison.

    2. That which is grand in nature or art, as distinguished
      from the merely beautiful.
  3. \Sub*lime”\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sublimed}; p. pr. &
    vb. n. {Subliming}.] [Cf. L. sublimare, F. sublimer to
    subject to sublimation. See {Sublime}, a., and cf.
    {Sublimate}, v. t.]

    1. To raise on high. [Archaic]

      A soul sublimed by an idea above the region of
      vanity and conceit. –E. P.
      Whipple.

    2. (Chem.) To subject to the process of sublimation; to heat,
      volatilize, and condense in crystals or powder; to distill
      off, and condense in solid form; hence, also, to purify.

    3. To exalt; to heighten; to improve; to purify.

      The sun . . . Which not alone the southern wit
      sublimes, But ripens spirits in cold, northern
      climes. –Pope.

    4. To dignify; to ennoble.

      An ordinary gift can not sublime a person to a
      supernatural employment. –Jer. Taylor.

  4. \Sub*lime”\, v. i. (Chem.)
    To pass off in vapor, with immediate condensation;
    specifically, to evaporate or volatilize from the solid state
    without apparent melting; — said of those substances, like
    arsenic, benzoic acid, etc., which do not exhibit a liquid
    form on heating, except under increased pressure.

10 responses to “Sublime

  1. I don’t know. Maybe I’m jaded. Sublime? Maybe it’s too early in the morning and I’m too groggy to think. Hmm… Sublime. The woods, cool and mossy and only birds talking. A really good poem, one that isn’t afraid to sound good and mean something, but doesn’t kick you in the head and doesn’t quite mean anything or maybe means two or three conflicting or complementary things. Certain uncertain music, certain harmonies. A good cup of tea and jammy toast and a book and the sun in the morning. Crying or laughing, when you go crazy for just a minute. Birds. Mushrooms. Spider webs. A back rub that doesn’t stop until I fall asleep.

  2. sublime is hiking Swiss mountains till your legs fall off and you wonder if they’ll ever be able to drag you back home again, but then finally reaching the top and feeling this gigantic rush of energy all through you when you look around and see you’re at the same height with the monstrous ancient mountaintops around you, with bits of snow left from the winter season. Mighty feeling! My birthday is in February, someone get me a secluded hut in the Swiss alps?

  3. D

    Sublime is lying back in crisp green grass with an engrossing book, a cool glass of something refreshing and the sounds of summer in your ears.

  4. Sublime is dawn, a trusty horse, and a trail that stretches out and over the ridge for unknown miles.

  5. Sublime is sunlight on my face, the smile on the face of my colleague as I ask her whether we can say “du” instead of “Sie”, and the smell of the air after it has rained.

  6. SUBLIME

    Mig asks the question, What do you find sublime? Oh, talk about impossible to answer, in 25 million words

  7. LATER THAT SAME DAY, SHE STILL ACTS DUMB(LY)

    Cubs Cubs Cubs Cubs Cubs….ok, so it’s my site, my bandwith, so I can burden you with any/every thing on

  8. Mig

    I was talking to my wife about “sublime” in bed last night and told her my position, and she said it sounded as if I’d been sniffing glue. Which is why I asked the question here in the first place, rather than write a long post. In short, cutting out many of the dozier bits, I think sublime has to be found not made; and I think the world is sublime in general, and it’s mostly a matter of opening one’s eyes to it. Like, the longer you stare at a person, the more you can see their beauty (that, or really creep them out, depends on the situation of course).

    But yeah, there are certain things, aren’t there. The smell of a first summer rain on a hot road. Lying down in a mossy clearing in a forest with not too many insects. A nice set of knockers. Genuine forgiveness.

    [SNIFFFFFFFF]

  9. mig

    Seriously, go look here for a good description:

    http://fundelupa.blog-city.com/read/238428.htm

  10. Ashley

    Sublime is like a state of feeling at peace, when everything just falls together in almost a scerene kind of way. It’s a feeling you get when you feel on top of the world because of something you did or it can simply be a song or poem that truly has meaning in a way that makes you ponder about it for the rest of the day. It can be a scene in nature that gives you an emence feeling of scerenity, it can be the whole environment that surrounds you when you feel this aura of greatness. That is what sublime means to me.