Persian Honesty

Persian Honesty

To tell the truth and TO AIM STRAIGHT: that is the first Persian virtue. The honesty and tolerance of the Persians gave them great consistency in their de-centralized empire. The Satraps of Darius required delegation of governmental power. Because of the trust they had in each other and the infrastructure they had prepared the Persians were able to dominate a large empire with less centralized power. This gave their kingdom stability and order over a pro longed period of time. The Persians laid down a grid that many other civilizations could build on.

Americans owe their interstate highway system to The Persians. The Satraps of ancient Persia were not that dissimilar from states or provinces inside of a more contemporary republic.

Nietzsche in Weimar, December 1905 said. “Already at the beginning of this history I hinted at the reasons which led my brother to select a Persian as the incarnation of his ideal of the majestic philosopher. His reasons, however, for choosing Zarathustra of all others to be his mouthpiece, he gives us in the following words:-- "People have never asked me, as they should have done, what the name Zarathustra precisely means in my mouth, in the mouth of the first Immoralist; for what distinguishes that philosopher from all others in the past is the very fact that he was exactly the reverse of an immoralist. Zarathustra was the first to see in the struggle between good and evil the essential wheel in the working of things. The translation of morality into the metaphysical, as force, cause, end in itself, was HIS work. But the very question suggests its own answer. Zarathustra CREATED the most portentous error, MORALITY, consequently he should also be the first to PERCEIVE that error, not only because he has had longer and greater experience of the subject than any other thinker--all history is the experimental refutation of the theory of the so-called moral order of things:--the more important point is that Zarathustra was more truthful than any other thinker. In his teaching alone do we meet with truthfulness upheld as the highest virtue--i.e.: the reverse of the COWARDICE of the 'idealist' who flees from reality.”

So in the Persians we find the first realists, agnostics, and possibly even humanists. Their belief can be summarized in the motto, “if it is to be then, it is up to me”. They bravely take control of their own destiny and propel themselves forward shirking Hebrew faith and Egyptian belief and raising Nubian discipline and Phoenician ingenuity to new levels. I disagree with Nietzsche that those who embrace honesty must also shirk faith and belief. There is also the kind of honesty that requires you to be true to yourself. This kind of honesty can work in harmony with the moral laws that faith and belief transmit when you have a faith or belief experience.

Honest and honesty is an adjective and noun in the language of virtue. It provides us with a moral compass to guide us through the language of virtue.

A Persian Fable...

FABLES OF ZAMBRI, THE PARSEE. taken from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12793/12793.txt

A rat seeing a cat approaching, and finding no avenue of escape, wentboldly up to her, and said:"Madam, I have just swallowed a dose of powerful bane, and inaccordance with instructions upon the label, have come out of my holeto die. Will you kindly direct me to a spot where my corpse will provepeculiarly offensive?""Since you are so ill," replied the cat, "I will myself transport youto a spot which I think will suit."So saying, she struck her teeth through the nape of his neck andtrotted away with him. This was more than he had bargained for, and hesqueaked shrilly with the pain."Ah!" said the cat, "a rat who knows he has but a few minutes to live,never makes a fuss about a little agony. I don't think, my finefellow, you have taken poison enough to hurt either you or me."So she made a meal of him.If this fable does not teach that a rat gets no profit by lying, Ishould be pleased to know what it does teach.