Why did Edmund Burke connect the sublime with danger and terror?

In 18th-century aesthetics, Edmund Burke’s exploration of the sublime—most notably in his work On the Sublime and Beautiful—fundamentally linked the concept to danger and terror because he viewed these experiences as powerful sources of emotional intensity.1

Burke, along with other British empiricists, belonged to a philosophical tradition that emphasized the role of emotion in aesthetic experience. Unlike beauty, which was often associated with pleasure and harmony, Burke identified the sublime as being rooted in the "stronger" emotions triggered by the prospect of pain or danger. He argued that when we are confronted with objects or scenes that evoke terror—provided we are at a sufficient distance to remain safe—the resulting experience is not merely one of fear, but a profound, overwhelming sensation that captures the imagination and spirit.21

By connecting the sublime to these intense, potentially threatening stimuli, Burke sought to explain how art and nature could provoke a unique, awe-inspiring response that transcends simple pleasure, thereby distinguishing the sublime from the more delicate qualities of the beautiful.1