Numinous
- “what does numinous mean”
- “numinous vs sublime”
- “rudolf otto the idea of the holy”
- “word for holy dread”
:: COMPARE ::
NuminousvsSublime
The short answer
The sublime overwhelms you with scale — a mountain, a storm, something too large to take in. The numinous overwhelms you with presence: something is THERE, and it is wholly other. One is about magnitude; the other is about company.
Side by side
| Aspect | Numinous | Sublime |
|---|---|---|
| Overwhelms with | Presence | Scale |
| Includes dread | Necessarily | Sometimes |
| Named by | Otto, 1917 | Burke, Kant |
| Requires an 'other' | Yes | No |
Which one you meant
Readers who land here meaning Numinous rather than Sublime are usually searching for phrases like “what does numinous mean”, “numinous vs sublime”, “rudolf otto the idea of the holy”.
Sublime
- “what does sublime mean”
- “sublime vs beautiful”
- “who wrote on the sublime”
- “kant sublime explained”
Which came first
Numinous. 1640s — First English attestation, meaning simply 'divine, of or pertaining to a numen'.
- 1640sNuminousFirst English attestation, meaning simply 'divine, of or pertaining to a numen'.
- 1674SublimeBoileau's French translation of Peri Hypsous — where the treatise really starts its career in the history of criticism.
Read either one in full