--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You do not reach the sublime by degrees…" description: "\"You do not reach the sublime by degrees; the distance between it and the merely beautiful is infinite.\" — Madame de Stael" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/madame-de-stael-2069_beautiful_you-do-not-reach-the-sublime-by-degrees_1259731.jpg" --- # You do not reach the sublime by degrees; the distance… ![“You do not reach the sublime by degrees; the distance between it and the merely beautiful is infinite.” quote by Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/madame-de-stael-2069_beautiful_you-do-not-reach-the-sublime-by-degrees_1259731.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/madame-de-stael-2069_beautiful_you-do-not-reach-the-sublime-by-degrees_1259731.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/madame-de-stael-2069_beautiful_you-do-not-reach-the-sublime-by-degrees_1259731.jpg) > “You do not reach the sublime by degrees; the distance between it and the merely beautiful is infinite.” [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The sublime cannot be reached gradually; it's vastly beyond mere beauty. **In simple terms:** Sublime is far beyond beauty. Key Takeaway Seek experiences beyond ordinary beauty. Themes aesthetics philosophy aspiration Mood contemplative philosophical Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - art appreciation - travel - spiritual practice Key Concepts transcendence beauty theory Questions to Reflect On - What does the sublime mean to you? - How can you appreciate beauty without chasing the sublime? A Different Perspective Pursuing the sublime may lead to frustration if expectations are unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-infinite-2991067/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance/) [Distance Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance-merely-4001242/) [Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite/) [Merely Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-beautiful-3696655/) [Nature of Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/) [Reach Sublime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reach-sublime-4001243/) [Sublime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sublime/) ## Related quotes > [You're merely beautiful with your make up on. But absolutely gorgeous having none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meshelemiah-ollado/you-re-merely-beautiful-with-your-make-up-on-but-absolutely-gorgeous/) [Meshelemiah Ollado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meshelemiah-ollado/) > [The 'lowly' finite is MUCH more beautiful than any 'infinite'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doron-zeilberger/the-lowly-finite-is-much-more-beautiful-than-any-infinite/) [Doron Zeilberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doron-zeilberger/) > [Romanticism is beauty without bounds-the beautiful infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/romanticism-is-beauty-without-bounds-the-beautiful-infinite/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [Beauty should be shared for it enhances our joys. To explore its mystery is to venture towards the sublime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-cornell/beauty-should-be-shared-for-it-enhances-our-joys-to-explore-its/) [Joseph Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-cornell/) > [Love is the suspension of reality in favor of the sublime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-fry/love-is-the-suspension-of-reality-in-favor-of-the-sublime/) [Jeffrey Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-fry/) > [When authors and critics talk of the sublime, they see not how nearly it borders on the ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/when-authors-and-critics-talk-of-the-sublime-they-see-not-how-nearly/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Only by chancing the ridiculous, can I hope for the sublime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-defeo/only-by-chancing-the-ridiculous-can-i-hope-for-the-sublime/) [Jay DeFeo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-defeo/) > [The sublime is only a step removed from the ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-sublime-is-only-a-step-removed-from-the-ridiculous/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain and danger, that is to say, whatever is in any sort terrible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/whatever-is-fitted-in-any-sort-to-excite-the-ideas-of-pain-and-danger/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [You start out with the sublime and you end up in an alley jerking away for dear life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/you-start-out-with-the-sublime-and-you-end-up-in-an-alley-jerking/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [To bring the sublime into the mundane is the greatest challenge there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-bring-the-sublime-into-the-mundane-is-the-greatest-challenge-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sublime places gently move us to acknowledge limitations that we might otherwise encounter with anxiety or anger in the ordinary flow of events. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/sublime-places-gently-move-us-to-acknowledge-limitations-that-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Some of the things you say are sublime and monstrous at once.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/some-of-the-things-you-say-are-sublime-and-monstrous-at-once/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [It is not without trepidation that I have appropriated the codes of the Sublime and the Picturesque in my work. After all, serious photographers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pfahl/it-is-not-without-trepidation-that-i-have-appropriated-the-codes-of/) [John Pfahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pfahl/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) ## More by Madame de Stael > [Good taste cannot supply the place of genius in literature, for the best proof of taste, when there is no genius, would be, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/good-taste-cannot-supply-the-place-of-genius-in-literature-for-the/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [There is no reality on this earth except religion and the power of love; all the rest is even more fugitive than life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/there-is-no-reality-on-this-earth-except-religion-and-the-power-of/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [in Italy, almost at every step, history and poetry add to the graces of nature, sweeten the memory of the past, and seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/in-italy-almost-at-every-step-history-and-poetry-add-to-the-graces-of/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [ \[Ridicule\] laughs at all those who see the earnestness of life and who still believe in true feelings and in serious thought ... It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/ridicule-laughs-at-all-those-who-see-the-earnestness-of-life-and-who/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Ought not every woman, like every man, to follow the bent of her own talents?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/ought-not-every-woman-like-every-man-to-follow-the-bent-of-her-own/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [The more we know the better we forgive. Whoever feels deeply, feels for all who live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-more-we-know-the-better-we-forgive-whoever-feels-deeply-feels-for/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Let us then blend everything: love, religion, genius, with sunshine, perfume, music, and poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/let-us-then-blend-everything-love-religion-genius-with-sunshine/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Man's most valuable faculty is his imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/man-s-most-valuable-faculty-is-his-imagination/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Taste is to literature what bon ton is in society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/taste-is-to-literature-what-bon-ton-is-in-society/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [A voyage without companionship, that is to say without conversation, is one of the saddest pleasures of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/a-voyage-without-companionship-that-is-to-say-without-conversation-is/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [However old a conjugal union, it still garners some sweetness. Winter has some cloudless days, and under the snow a few flowers still bloom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/however-old-a-conjugal-union-it-still-garners-some-sweetness-winter/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [The sight of such a monument is like continual and stationary music, which one hears for one's good as one approaches it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-sight-of-such-a-monument-is-like-continual-and-stationary-music/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [If we would succeed in works of the imagination, we must offer a mild morality in the midst of rigid manners; but where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/if-we-would-succeed-in-works-of-the-imagination-we-must-offer-a-mild/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Innocence in genius, and candor in power, are both noble qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/innocence-in-genius-and-candor-in-power-are-both-noble-qualities/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [“The human mind always makes progress, but it is a progress made in spirals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-human-mind-always-makes-progress-but-it-is-a-progress-made-in/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) [Explore all 187 Madame de Stael quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) ## More Beautiful quotes > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Being beautiful comes naturally!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-beautiful-comes-naturally/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) [Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/) > [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [Growing up in Iceland, it was very beautiful, very safe, but quite isolated. There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/) [Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/) [Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/) [Browse all 17,976 Beautiful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You do not reach the sublime by degrees; the distance between it and the merely beautiful is infinite.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Madame de Stael" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/you-do-not-reach-the-sublime-by-degrees-the-distance-between-it-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beautiful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/you-do-not-reach-the-sublime-by-degrees-the-distance-between-it-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/madame-de-stael-2069_beautiful_you-do-not-reach-the-sublime-by-degrees_1259731.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/madame-de-stael-2069_beautiful_you-do-not-reach-the-sublime-by-degrees_1259731.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/madame-de-stael-2069_beautiful_you-do-not-reach-the-sublime-by-degrees_1259731.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You do not reach the sublime by degrees; the distance between it and the merely beautiful is infinite.” — Madame de Stael", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Madame de Stael", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You do not reach the sublime...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/you-do-not-reach-the-sublime-by-degrees-the-distance-between-it-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/you-do-not-reach-the-sublime-by-degrees-the-distance-between-it-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```