Zoroaster — "Whoso causes affliction to the righteous, him shall the evil spirit hold captive…"
Whoso causes affliction to the righteous, him shall the evil spirit hold captive.
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More from Zoroaster
"The two primal spirits, who revealed themselves in vision as twins, are the Better and the Bad in thought, word, and action."
"Choose the truth. And if the truth is inconvenient, choose it anyway. But maybe grumble a little."
"May good thoughts, good words, good deeds lead to Paradise."
"I will sing praises to You, O Ahura Mazda, with good thoughts and truthful words."
"The poet of Thy praise, I call myself, O Mazda!"
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
If you harm someone who lives rightly and honestly, you bind yourself to evil. The act of oppressing a good person isn't just wrong toward them; it pulls the aggressor under the power of a destructive force. Cruelty to the virtuous corrupts the cruel one, trapping them in the very darkness they inflicted. In short, harming the good makes you a prisoner of wickedness itself.
Relevance to Zoroaster
Zoroaster founded a faith built on the cosmic struggle between Ahura Mazda, the wise lord of truth (asha), and Angra Mainyu, the evil spirit. As a priest and prophet, he reframed morality as a personal choice with spiritual consequences. This saying mirrors his core teaching: the righteous (ashavan) are protected by truth, while those who attack them align themselves with the Lie (druj) and become captives of the evil mind.
The era
Zoroaster preached in ancient Iran, likely around 1500–1000 BCE, among pastoral tribes dominated by warrior raids, cattle theft, and polytheistic blood sacrifice. Rival chieftains and priests often persecuted peaceful herders and reformers. His message introduced a revolutionary ethical monotheism in a violent, tribal landscape, offering the oppressed a promise that injustice carried its own supernatural punishment. Against a backdrop of lawless raiding, the idea that evil binds the evildoer was radical justice.
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