From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step

Cultural

In life, things that are noble and magnificent are never far from things that are trivial and laughable. This saying has been attributed to both Napoleon Bonaparte and the French statesman Talleyrand.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step

From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step: which is the sublime, and which the ridiculous, every one must settle for himself.

From A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume I by Smith, David Eugene

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023