A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful Chapter Summary & Analysis - Part IV, Sections VIII - XXV Summary

Part IV, Sections VIII - XXV Summary and Analysis

Section VIII: Burke will, in the proceeding sections, attempt to explain why things that are not dangerous produce a passion like terror.

Section IX: Large things visually cause something like terror because larger things affect more rods and cones of the eyes. When most or all of the rods and cones are vibrating, this sensation is something akin to pain and thus to terror. If a large object is perceived only in parts, the eye and head must still move quickly and frenetically to take it all in, producing a similar pain sensation to the rods and cones.

Section X: In addition to being large, the terror-inducing object must be uniform. Variation in color/light would allow the engaged rods and cones to rest between observing different states, allowing a sort of organ relaxation contrary to terror. A large object of one monolithic color/visual quality keeps the rods and cones fully...
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