Longinus

Pseudo-Longinus is the conventional name given to the unknown ancient Greek author of *On the Sublime* (*Peri Hypsous*), a major work of literary criticism and rhetoric. The treatise survives in a medieval manuscript tradition and was long attributed to “Longinus,” leading to the later label “Pseudo-Longinus” to mark the uncertainty of authorship. Modern scholarship generally rejects identification with Cassius Longinus, the 3rd‑century CE philosopher and rhetorician, and the author’s true identity remains unresolved. *On the Sublime* analyzes how language and thought can achieve “sublimity,” discussing style, emotion, and exemplary passages from earlier Greek literature.