Choosing the Lesser Harm

The saying advises that having no work may be preferable to taking work that is harmful, degrading, dishonest, or otherwise badly chosen. Employment is not treated as automatically beneficial when its conditions or consequences are seriously wrong.

When every available course carries some harm, prefer the option that causes the least damage. The saying frames this as a practical choice between undesirable alternatives, not as approval of wrongdoing.

When the available choices are genuinely limited and every option has harmful consequences, choose the one likely to cause less damage. The saying frames the decision as harm reduction rather than a search for an ideal outcome.

It is wiser to take a longer or less direct course than to press ahead and encounter a hazard. Here, “go about” means taking an indirect way or avoiding the risky path, not simply beginning an activity. The inconvenience of a detour is preferable to the greater loss from a preventable mistake.