| 词源 |
from the sublime to the ridiculous. This very common ex- pression most often means from one extreme to the other, or from the noble to the ignoble. Sometimes it is heard, errone- ously, as from the ridiculous to the sublime. The phrase has been traced to English and American patriot Tom Paine, who wrote in The Age of Reason (1794–95): “The sublime and the ridicu- lous are often so nearly related that it is difficult to class them separately, and one step above the ridiculous makes the sub- lime again.” Paine spent 11 months in prison in between the writing of the first two parts of his great book. |