<P> A similar effect was achieved by the lawgiver of the Jews--no mean genius, for he both understood and gave expression to the power of the divinity as it deserved--when he wrote at the very beginning of his laws, and I quote his words: "God said,"--what was it?--"Let there be light, and there was . Let there be earth, and there was ." </P> <P> Given his positive reference to Genesis, Longinus has been assumed to be either a Hellenized Jew or readily familiar with the Jewish culture . As such, Longinus emphasizes that, to be a truly great writer, authors must have "moral excellence". In fact, critics speculate that Longinus avoided publication in the ancient world "either by modesty or by prudential motives". Moreover, Longinus stresses that transgressive writers are not necessarily shameless fools, even if they take literary risks that seem "bold, lawless, and original". As for social subjectivity, Longinus acknowledges that complete liberty promotes spirit and hope; according to Longinus, "never did a slave become an orator". On the other hand, too much luxury and wealth leads to a decay in eloquence--eloquence being the goal of the sublime writer . </P> <P> Longinus critically applauds and condemns certain literary works as examples of good or bad styles of writing . Longinus ultimately promotes an "elevation of style" and an essence of "simplicity". To quote this famous author, "the first and most important source of sublimity (is) the power of forming great conceptions ." The concept of the sublime is generally accepted to refer to a style of writing that elevates itself "above the ordinary". Finally, Longinus sets out five sources of sublimity: "great thoughts, strong emotions, certain figures of thought and speech, noble diction, and dignified word arrangement". </P> <P> The effects of the Sublime are: loss of rationality, an alienation leading to identification with the creative process of the artist and a deep emotion mixed in pleasure and exaltation . An example of sublime (which the author quotes in the work) is a poem by Sappho, the so - called Ode to Jealousy, defined as a "Sublime ode". A writer's goal is not so much to express empty feelings, but to arouse emotion in his audience . </P>

How many principle sources of sublimity are there according to longinus