Zoroaster — "The wicked shall be punished, but the righteous shall be rewarded."
The wicked shall be punished, but the righteous shall be rewarded.
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More from Zoroaster
"And the evil ones shall be led to their ruin, but the good ones shall come to their reward."
"Suffer no anxiety, for he who is a sufferer of anxiety becomes regardless of enjoyment of the world and the spirit, and contraction happens to his body and soul."
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"Always meet petulance with gentleness and perverseness with kindness."
"Through the best righteousness, through the best mind, and through the best works, we approach Thee, O Mazda Ahura."
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
Actions carry consequences. Good people earn reward; harmful people face penalty. It frames morality as a reliable system rather than arbitrary luck, promising that honest, ethical behavior pays off in the end while cruelty, deceit, and harm eventually catch up with those who commit them. The statement expresses a confident belief in cosmic fairness, encouraging listeners to choose integrity even when wrongdoing seems to go unanswered in the short term.
Relevance to Zoroaster
Zoroaster founded one of the earliest religions built around a clear moral dualism between good and evil, truth (asha) and lie (druj). He taught that each soul crosses the Chinvat Bridge after death and is judged by its thoughts, words, and deeds. This saying reflects the core of his prophetic message: a just supreme god, Ahura Mazda, ensures the righteous reach paradise while the wicked fall into torment, placing personal ethical choice at the center of religious life.
The era
Zoroaster preached in ancient Iran, likely between 1500 and 1000 BCE, among tribal societies practicing polytheistic rituals, animal sacrifice, and blood feuds where might often overruled fairness. Priestly classes dominated worship, and moral accountability was tied to clan honor rather than individual conscience. By proclaiming a single wise god who judged each person by their deeds, Zoroaster offered a radical reframing of justice that later influenced Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Greek philosophical ideas about heaven, hell, and final judgment.
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