Bridging the gap between the near and the far: Displacement and representation

This article discusses the use of proximal deictic expressions to designate distal entities, focusing on the use of the present tense to designate past events. Cognitive approaches to this issue assume that such usages presuppose a special conceptual construal, in which the spatio-temporal distance between the ground and the designated event space is bridged in some way. In this paper, I argue that there are two distinct ways in which this may be accomplished. One is through mentally displacing the ground to the distal space, so that the designated events become proximal in relation to this alternative ground. The other involves bringing the distal space into the ground in the form of a representation. I describe the distinctive characteristics of the two scenarios, showing both where they converge and at what point the difference becomes relevant for linguistic analysis

Longinus, on the Sublime 12.4-5:Demosthenes and Cicero

This article discusses the critical comparison (σγκρισισ) of the styles of Demosthenes and Cicero in Longinus, On the Sublime 12.4-5. Many readers have claimed that Longinus here presents Demosthenes and Cicero as two different models of the sublime. A detailed analysis of the passage, however, reveals that while the two are both credited with grandeur (μγϵθωσ), they are in fact not treated on a par with respect to sublimity (ψωσ). While the style of Demosthenes is described with keywords of Longinus' conception of the sublime (ψωσ), Cicero's style is consistently associated with the quality of diffusion (χσισ), which is closely associated with amplification (αξησισ). Longinus' discussion of Cicero may have pleased the Roman readers in his audience, as he is presented as a canonical author of 'great' literature. We argue, however, that in the end, Longinus reserves the status of sublimity for his heroes of classical Greece