Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad.

The words of Euripides, the ancient Greek tragedian and philosopher of human nature, resound like a warning from the deep chambers of history: “Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad.” In this saying lies an eternal truth about pride, folly, and the unseen forces that lead to one’s downfall. Madness here does not merely mean the loss of reason, but the blindness of the soul — the arrogance, obsession, and moral decay that draw mortals away from wisdom. It is the prelude to destruction, the clouding of judgment before the fall.

The origin of this quote can be traced to the tragic wisdom of ancient Greece, where playwrights like Euripides examined the fates of kings, heroes, and ordinary people who defied divine or moral order. In his plays, madness often symbolized the turning point — the moment when a person, consumed by pride or passion, strayed so far from reason that ruin became inevitable. To the Greeks, this madness was not arbitrary punishment but divine justice; when a man’s heart became too proud, the gods clouded his mind so that he might bring about his own undoing. Thus, destruction was not imposed from without — it arose from the corruption within.

At the heart of this saying is the mystery of hubris — the pride that blinds a person to their limits, leading them to challenge divine or moral law. This blindness is not immediate; it begins subtly, with overconfidence, stubbornness, and the rejection of counsel. In this sense, “madness” is the loss of perspective and humility. When a man believes himself invincible, he steps out of harmony with the natural and moral order of the universe. The ancients understood that this disconnection invites chaos, and from chaos, destruction.

History offers countless examples that illuminate this truth. Consider King Lear, as reimagined by Shakespeare, whose pride and blindness to love led him to cast away the one daughter who truly cared for him. Stripped of his crown and sanity, he wandered in madness before death claimed him — a perfect mirror of Euripides’ wisdom. Or look to Napoleon Bonaparte, whose brilliance turned to arrogance. Believing himself unstoppable, he launched his doomed invasion of Russia, blinded by ambition until the empire he built turned to ash. Before their ruin, both men were touched by the same madness — the delusion of omnipotence that blinds the wise and dooms the mighty.

Euripides’ insight also carries a profound emotional weight, for it speaks not only of kings and conquerors but of every human soul. We, too, fall prey to smaller madnesses — anger that clouds judgment, greed that corrodes compassion, or bitterness that blinds us to truth. The “madness” God allows is not merely divine punishment but a reflection of our own inner discord. When we turn away from humility, gratitude, and reason, we sever our bond with truth, and destruction follows — not as wrath from above, but as the natural consequence of our own folly.

The lesson is clear and eternal: guard your reason, nurture humility, and beware of the creeping madness born of pride. The mind, like a flame, must be tended; when consumed by ego or passion, it burns itself to ash. Wisdom lies in self-awareness — in recognizing when emotion overtakes clarity, when confidence turns to arrogance, and when desire blinds the conscience. To master the self is to avert destruction; to ignore the signs is to invite it.

Practically, this teaching calls for daily introspection. Reflect upon your actions and intentions. Seek counsel when pride tempts you to solitude. Temper victory with humility, and approach loss with grace. Remember that even the wise can be deceived by their own desires, and that restraint is the truest form of strength. Through humility and reason, one remains aligned with truth — and thus with the divine order itself.

Thus, the words of Euripides endure through the ages: “Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad.” Let them remind us that destruction rarely comes suddenly; it begins in the mind, in the subtle drift from wisdom to delusion. To remain balanced, humble, and self-aware is to walk in harmony with divine truth — and in that harmony lies the salvation of both body and soul.