--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Finer feeling, which we now wish to…" description: "\"“Finer feeling, which we now wish to consider, is chiefly of two kinds: the feeling of the *sublime* and that of the *beautiful*. The stirring of each ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/immanuel-kant-532_aesthetics_finer-feeling-which-we-now-wish-to-consi_2292725.jpg" --- # Finer feeling, which we now wish to consider, is chiefly… ![“Finer feeling, which we now wish to consider, is chiefly of two kinds: the feeling of the *sublime* and that of the *beautiful*. The stirring of each is pleasant, but in different ways. The sight of a mountain whose snow-covered peak rises above the clouds, the description of a raging storm, or…” quote by Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/immanuel-kant-532_aesthetics_finer-feeling-which-we-now-wish-to-consi_2292725.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/immanuel-kant-532_aesthetics_finer-feeling-which-we-now-wish-to-consi_2292725.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/immanuel-kant-532_aesthetics_finer-feeling-which-we-now-wish-to-consi_2292725.jpg) > ““Finer feeling, which we now wish to consider, is chiefly of two kinds: the feeling of the \*sublime\* and that of the \*beautiful\*. The stirring of each is pleasant, but in different ways. The sight of a mountain whose snow-covered peak rises above the clouds, the description of a raging storm, or Milton's portrayal of the infernal kingdom, arouse enjoyment but with horror; on the other hand, the sight of flower strewn meadows, valleys with winding brooks and covered with grazing flocks, the description of Elysium, or Homer's portrayal of the girdle of Venus, also occasion a pleasant sensation but one that is joyous and smiling. In order that the former impression could occur to us in due strength, we must have \*a feeling of the sublime\*, and, in order to enjoy the latter well, \*a feeling of the beautiful\*. Tall oaks and lonely shadows in a sacred grove are sublime; flower beds, low hedges and trees trimmed in figures are beautiful. Night is sublime; day is beautiful. Temperaments that possess a feeling for the sublime are drawn gradually, by the quiet stillness of a summer evening as the shimmering light of the stars breaks through the brown shadows of night and the lonely moon rises into view, into high feelings of friendship, of disdain for the world, of eternity. The shining day stimulates busy fervor and a feeling of gaiety. The sublime \*moves\*, the beautiful \*charms\*.”” [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Kant distinguishes two aesthetic feelings: the sublime, which evokes awe mixed with terror, and the beautiful, which brings gentle joy. **In simple terms:** Sublime is awe‑inducing; beautiful is gently pleasant. Key Takeaway Recognize which feeling a work evokes. Themes aesthetic theory philosophy emotion art beauty the sublime Mood awe joy contemplation Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - art criticism - landscape painting - music composition - literary analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts Kantian aesthetics subjective judgment emotional response Questions to Reflect On - Do you seek awe or comfort in art? - How does each feeling shape your values? A Different Perspective The sublime can overwhelm and cause fear; the beautiful may be dismissed as trivial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetics/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Nature of Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Sublimity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sublimity/) [Summer evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-evening/) ## Related quotes > [I would then say that there are two kinds of feeling. The first is to feel in the sense of concentrating your emotions on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/i-would-then-say-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-feeling-the-first-is-to/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [“For thousands of years, it had been nature--and its supposed creator--that had had a monopoly on awe. 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The driving impulse \[\*Triebimpuls\*\] which arouses may tire out;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scheler/love-loves-and-in-loving-always-looks-beyond-what-it-has-in-hand-and/) [Max Scheler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scheler/) > [“Scientific axiology arises from the unfolding of the following axiom: Value is the degree in which a thing possesses the set of qualities corresponding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-william-davis/scientific-axiology-arises-from-the-unfolding-of-the-following-axiom/) [John William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-william-davis/) > [“Mattia stayed right where he was, feeling those clothes that weren't his, but with the pleasant sensation of disappearing into them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/mattia-stayed-right-where-he-was-feeling-those-clothes-that-weren-t/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [I feel an unfamiliar but pleasant sensation in my lips, tugging them upward. 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'It won't last for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/enjoy-it-kid-enjoy-feeling-that-you-can-make-a-difference-floyd/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [“It is not wrong to feel sorry for yourself. Just like it is not wrong to sit in a puddle of water while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/it-is-not-wrong-to-feel-sorry-for-yourself-just-like-it-is-not-wrong/) [Richelle E. 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I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) ## More by Immanuel Kant > [Even if a civil society were to be dissolved by the consent of all its members (e.g., if a people inhabiting an island decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/even-if-a-civil-society-were-to-be-dissolved-by-the-consent-of-all/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [How then is perfection to be sought? Wherein lies our hope? In education, and in nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/how-then-is-perfection-to-be-sought-wherein-lies-our-hope-in/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Heaven has given human beings three things to balance the odds of life: hope, sleep, and laughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/heaven-has-given-human-beings-three-things-to-balance-the-odds-of/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Beauty presents an indeterminate concept of Understanding, the sublime an indeterminate concept of Reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/beauty-presents-an-indeterminate-concept-of-understanding-the-sublime/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Freedom is that faculty that enlarges the usefulness of all other faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-is-that-faculty-that-enlarges-the-usefulness-of-all-other/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Philosophical knowledge is the knowledge gained by reason from concepts ; mathematical knowledge is the knowledge gained by reason from the construction of concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/philosophical-knowledge-is-the-knowledge-gained-by-reason-from/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [A categorical imperative would be one which represented an action as objectively necessary in itself, without reference to any other purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/a-categorical-imperative-would-be-one-which-represented-an-action-as/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [When I could have used a wife, I could not support one; and when I could support one, I no longer needed any](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/when-i-could-have-used-a-wife-i-could-not-support-one-and-when-i/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Enlightenment is the liberation of man from his self-caused state of minority... Supere aude! Dare to use your own understanding!is thus the motto of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/enlightenment-is-the-liberation-of-man-from-his-self-caused-state-of/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [The ideal of the supreme being is nothing but a regulative principle of reason which directs us to look upon all connection in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-ideal-of-the-supreme-being-is-nothing-but-a-regulative-principle/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“Jeg skal alltid handle slik at den regelen jeg handler etter kunne gjelde som allmenn lov.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/jeg-skal-alltid-handle-slik-at-den-regelen-jeg-handler-etter-kunne/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Deaths, births, and marriages, considering how much they are separately dependent on the freedom of the human will, should seem to be subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/deaths-births-and-marriages-considering-how-much-they-are-separately/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [It is precisely in knowing its limits that philosophy consists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/it-is-precisely-in-knowing-its-limits-that-philosophy-consists/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [A society that is not willing to demand a life of somebody who has taken somebody else’s life is simply immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/a-society-that-is-not-willing-to-demand-a-life-of-somebody-who-has/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [. . . as to moral feeling, this supposed special sense, the appeal to it is indeed superficial when those who cannot think believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/as-to-moral-feeling-this-supposed-special-sense-the-appeal-to-it-is/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Explore all 476 Immanuel Kant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) ## More Aesthetics quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/pleasure-is-by-no-means-an-infallible-critical-guide-but-it-is-the/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [ Probably the high-watermark of \[Bob\] Dylan's career came after he plugged in his guitar ("Judas!" one fan shouted during a concert) and exploded American… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/probably-the-high-watermark-of-bob-dylan-s-career-came-after-he/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Road cycling, especially up mountains. It's the heady mixture of endorphins and aesthetics that I love. My wife does it too, and being with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kemp/road-cycling-especially-up-mountains-it-s-the-heady-mixture-of/) [Gary Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kemp/) > [“No man sings as beautifully as when his song is accompanied by a woman’s voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/no-man-sings-as-beautifully-as-when-his-song-is-accompanied-by-a/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [ \[Alexei Nemov\] has the best feel for the aesthetics of the sport. He doesn't just do a skill; he makes it look gorgeous. Some… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-vidmar/alexei-nemov-has-the-best-feel-for-the-aesthetics-of-the-sport-he/) [Peter Vidmar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-vidmar/) > [The great work of art is the complete banality, and the fault with most banalities is that they are not banal enough. Banality here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-great-work-of-art-is-the-complete-banality-and-the-fault-with/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [I find the aesthetics of the 20th century hopelessly barren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-find-the-aesthetics-of-the-20th-century-hopelessly-barren/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [For it is a mad world and it will get madder if we allow the minorities, be they dwarf or giant, orangutan or dolphin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/for-it-is-a-mad-world-and-it-will-get-madder-if-we-allow-the/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [We’re surrounded by anonymous, poorly made objects. 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Then you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-urban/there-s-only-so-much-you-can-do-until-you-get-on-set-and-see-the/) [Karl Urban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-urban/) > [In our view the Olympic idea involves a strong physical culture supplemented on the one hand by mobility, what is so aptly called 'fair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-de-coubertin/in-our-view-the-olympic-idea-involves-a-strong-physical-culture/) [Pierre de Coubertin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-de-coubertin/) [Browse all 302 Aesthetics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Finer feeling, which we now wish to consider, is chiefly of two kinds: the feeling of the *sublime* and that of the *beautiful*. The stirring of each is pleasant, but in different ways. The sight of a mountain whose snow-covered peak rises above the clouds, the description of a raging storm, or Milton's portrayal of the infernal kingdom, arouse enjoyment but with horror; on the other hand, the sight of flower strewn meadows, valleys with winding brooks and covered with grazing flocks, the description of Elysium, or Homer's portrayal of the girdle of Venus, also occasion a pleasant sensation but one that is joyous and smiling. In order that the former impression could occur to us in due strength, we must have *a feeling of the sublime*, and, in order to enjoy the latter well, *a feeling of the beautiful*. Tall oaks and lonely shadows in a sacred grove are sublime; flower beds, low hedges and trees trimmed in figures are beautiful. Night is sublime; day is beautiful. Temperaments that possess a feeling for the sublime are drawn gradually, by the quiet stillness of a summer evening as the shimmering light of the stars breaks through the brown shadows of night and the lonely moon rises into view, into high feelings of friendship, of disdain for the world, of eternity. The shining day stimulates busy fervor and a feeling of gaiety. 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