Part II, Sections X - XXII Summary and Analysis

Section X: Great magnitude is an essential quality for sublime buildings, but great magnitude in only a single dimension (say, length) is not sublime. The dimensions must work together, and the architect must "deceive" the eye by building what can be perceived as infinite or great rather than being infinite (which is impossible) or great, to achieve sublimity.

Section XI: Infinity can also be pleasing. In springtime when young animals are born, they are pleasing because we imagine them to have very long lives ahead of them, which to the present moment seems infinite.

Section XII: A source of greatness is difficulty. If a work was difficult to pull off, it is necessarily great.

Section XIII: Magnificence is a source of the sublime, defined as a great collection of things which...