"This 1512 image, shows the 1st mention of the phrase: "Throw out the baby with the bath water" from Narrenbeschwörung (Appeal to Fools) by Thomas Murner. This idiom derives from a German proverb, das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten. It is a common catchphrase in German, with examples of its use in work by Martin Luther, Johannes Kepler, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Otto von Bismarck,Thomas Mann, and Günter Grass." http://bjws.blogspot.nl/2016/02/1512-evolution-of-advice-dont-throw.html