DBE, Archbishop of Canterbury
“Whom the gods destroy, they first make mad.”
These are the words of a ‘proverb’, which is of classical Greek origin, but which, I am led to believe, first appears in English in exactly the above form in the Reverend William Anderson Scott’s book Daniel, a Model for Young Men (1854) and is there attributed to a ‘heathen proverb’.
An early precedent of the proverb appears in verses of Sophocles’ play Antigone. In that play is found a phrase which may be translated: ‘Evil appears as good in the minds of those whom god leads to destruction.’
The Bible
While these sentiments have appeared in Greek literature, that is not its primary source of the observation expressed by this proverb!
No! It comes from the Bible!
The inspired Word of God, the only source of true knowledge, informed men much more succinctly, a long time before the period of renowned Grecian literature (800 BC – 400 AD), of the truth observed by Greek scholars.
“When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom,” Proverbs 11:2.
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall,” Proverbs 16:18.
“A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit,” Proverbs 29:23.
Such truths as these came from the pen of Solomon, some 200 years before the emergence of the era of classical Greek literature.
Nebuchadnezzar
The word “pride” carries the meaning of an arrogance that is self-deceiving. It is best illustrated in the folly of Nebuchadnezzar, who, despite being warned by Daniel of what awaited him due to his pride, nevertheless forgot the words of the prophet and one year later gave way to the self-exaltation that spring from his depraved heart. (more…)
