During the European Enlightenment, a concept was developed in philosophy and aesthetics called the sublime. In the arts, literature, and the works of intellectuals, the sublime referred to the awe-inspiring capacity of nature and beauty, characteristics that artists and thinkers sought to replicate in their own work and even to apply to ethics.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2383/the-idea-of-the-sublime-in-the-enlightenment/.