Euripides
Greek · c. 480–406 BC
The most psychologically modern of the ancient Greek tragedians, who gave voice to women, slaves, and outsiders with radical empathy and moral ambiguity.
Wikipedia ↗“No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow.”
Ancient Greek
Alcestis ↗ (c. 438 BC)
“Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.”
Ancient Greek
The specific English phrasing originates from Longfellow (1875). The concept appears in ancient Greek literature (Sophocles, Aeschylus) but this exact formulation is not reliably attributed to Euripides.