Zoroaster — "I counsel you to always choose the better way. Unless the better way involves a …"
I counsel you to always choose the better way. Unless the better way involves a really steep hill. Then, maybe consider a detour.
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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.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
The saying offers earnest moral advice then undercuts it with a joke about avoiding hard paths. It tells you to pick the right choice, but winks that if the right choice is genuinely exhausting, it is okay to find an easier route. In modern terms, it parodies self-help wisdom by admitting humans rarely follow perfect guidance when the cost feels too high, so pragmatic compromise sometimes wins.
Relevance to Zoroaster
Zoroaster founded one of the oldest monotheistic faiths and preached the constant choice between Asha, cosmic truth and righteousness, and Druj, deception. His core teaching was that every person must actively choose the better path through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. The humorous detour clashes with his absolutist ethics, since authentic Zoroastrian doctrine demanded commitment to the right way regardless of difficulty, not situational escape clauses.
The era
Zoroaster lived in ancient Iran, likely between 1500 and 1000 BCE, during a nomadic Bronze Age society that worshipped many nature deities and practiced ritual sacrifice. He rejected that polytheism and proclaimed Ahura Mazda the one wise creator, framing existence as a battle between good and evil. His ideas spread through the later Achaemenid Persian Empire and influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, shaping concepts of heaven, hell, and final judgment.
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