 To provide an example of aesthetic suffering, Schiller refers to Johann Winckelmann’s famous description of the ancient statue of Laocoön. Even as serpents slay both him and his sons, the battle between his sensuous self and his spiritual self is visible on Laocoön’s brow, signaling that he has not abandoned himself to fear. The Aeneid’s evocation of the serpents that pursue and ultimately overpower Laocoön provides another example: their approach is terrifying, but if