Zoroaster — "The wise man knows what he does not know. The truly wise man knows what he does …"
The wise man knows what he does not know. The truly wise man knows what he does not know and then asks someone else to explain it.
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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
Real wisdom has two layers. First, you recognize the edges of your own knowledge and admit when a subject is beyond you. Second, you actually do something about that gap by seeking out someone who understands it better and letting them teach you. Pride keeps most people stuck at the first step, nodding at their ignorance but refusing to ask. True intelligence is humble enough to consult others and treat every conversation as a chance to learn.
Relevance to Zoroaster
Zoroaster built an entire faith around Asha, meaning truth and right order, and around Vohu Manah, the Good Mind that actively seeks understanding. As a priest-prophet who challenged the inherited polytheism of his tribe, he modeled questioning over blind acceptance. His hymns, the Gathas, are literally framed as dialogues where he asks Ahura Mazda direct questions. For him, wisdom was never a private possession but something pursued through honest inquiry and conversation.
The era
Zoroaster lived in Bronze Age Iran, likely between 1500 and 1000 BCE, when knowledge moved orally through priestly castes who guarded rituals as family secrets. Asking outsiders or commoners to explain sacred matters was nearly taboo. Against that closed system, Zoroaster preached a portable, rational ethic open to anyone willing to think. Nearby Mesopotamian and Vedic cultures were also beginning to record laws and hymns, making his era a hinge point between secretive tradition and examined belief.
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