Numinous
- “what does numinous mean”
- “numinous vs sublime”
- “rudolf otto the idea of the holy”
- “word for holy dread”
01 · Side by side
Side by side
Comparison sheet
| Aspect | Numinous | Sublime |
|---|---|---|
| Overwhelms with | Presence | Scale |
| Includes dread | Necessarily | Sometimes |
| Named by | Otto, 1917 | Burke, Kant |
| Requires an 'other' | Yes | No |
02 · Which one you meant
Which one did you mean?
In shortReaders 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”
03 · Which came first
Which came first
In shortNuminous. 1640s — First English attestation, meaning simply 'divine, of or pertaining to a numen'.
- 1640s
Numinous. First English attestation, meaning simply 'divine, of or pertaining to a numen'.
- 1674
Sublime. Boileau's French translation of Peri Hypsous — where the treatise really starts its career in the history of criticism.
04 · Read either one