1
general::
Phrase(s): from the sublime to the ridiculous
Fig. from something fine and uplifting to something ridiculous or mundane. • After Mr. Jones had introduced my wife to his wife, he jokingly turned to introduce me and said, "From the sublime to the ridiculous." • After the opera singer finished, the master of ceremonies introduced the comic juggler saying, "From the sublime to the ridiculous...."
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
From the beautiful to the silly, from great to puny. For example, They played first Bach and then an ad jingle? from the sublime to the ridiculous. The reverse, from the ridiculous to the sublime, is used with the opposite meaning. Coined by Tom Paine in The Age of Reason (1794), in which he said the two are so closely related that it is but one step from one to the other, the phrase has been often repeated in either order.
American Heritage Idioms