Zoroaster — "Evil is connected to lie or drûj. The Avestan word drûj means literally 'a tangl…"
Evil is connected to lie or drûj. The Avestan word drûj means literally 'a tangle of trickery, deceit and lies.' Evil is what is not original and real.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Zoroaster
"Clear is this all to the man of wisdom as to the man who carefully thinks; he who upholds Truth with all the might of his power, he who upholds Truth the utmost in his word and deed, he, indeed, is th…"
"May we attain to the state of perfection, O Ahura Mazda."
"May we be granted the choice of good over evil, and the wisdom to discern the right path."
"Show me, O Mazda, through Good Mind, how to fulfill this teaching, for which I ask Thee, and through Thy Righteousness, to approach Thee, O Ahura, and to offer praise to Thee."
"I who have set my heart on watching over the soul, in union with Good Thought, as I praise and proclaim you, O Wise Lord."
About Zoroaster (c. 1500-1000 BCE (debated))
Iranian prophet who founded Zoroastrianism, the first major religion of cosmic dualism between good (Ahura Mazda) and evil (Angra Mainyu). Closely associated with The Buddha (near-contemporary Eastern moral-cosmological revolutionary). For an intellectual contrast, see Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher of 'beyond good and evil' — Nietzsche appropriated Zarathustra's name for Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883) precisely to invert the original's moral cosmology — the historical Zoroaster founded the good-versus-evil framework Nietzsche's character announces the end of.
Verification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: gemini
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
This quote defines evil as deception itself. Drûj isn't just lying—it's a whole web of trickery that pulls people away from what's genuine and true. Good equals reality; evil equals distortion of reality. When you lie, cheat, or manipulate, you're not just doing a bad thing—you're participating in the fundamental force that corrupts existence. Truth is the baseline of being; falsehood is a departure from it.
Relevance to Zoroaster
Zoroaster built his entire religion around the cosmic battle between asha (truth, order) and drûj (lie, chaos). As a prophet-reformer who rejected the polytheistic rituals of his Bronze Age culture, he placed honesty at the center of ethics—worshippers pledged good thoughts, good words, good deeds. For him, being truthful wasn't a virtue among many; it was alignment with Ahura Mazda, the wise lord, versus serving the deceiving spirit Angra Mainyu.
The era
Zoroaster preached in ancient Iran around 1500–1000 BCE, during a violent tribal era of cattle raids, warrior cults, and priest-sanctioned intoxicant rituals he considered corrupt. Most religions of the time emphasized ritual correctness and appeasing many gods. By reframing morality around truth versus lie rather than sacrifice and tribal loyalty, Zoroaster introduced one of history's earliest ethical monotheisms—a framework that later shaped Judaism, Christianity, and Islam's ideas of cosmic good versus evil.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].