The church is close, but the road is icey. The tavern is far, but I will walk carefully.

This Russian proverb contrasts two destinations—church (virtue, duty, social respectability) and tavern (temptation, pleasure, vice)—and then undercuts the expected moral choice. Although the church is physically nearer, the path is “icy,” suggesting danger, difficulty, or hypocrisy in the supposedly righteous route. The tavern is farther, yet the speaker resolves to “walk carefully,” implying deliberate, self-justifying pursuit of temptation while claiming prudence. The humor lies in the rationalization: the speaker frames a morally dubious choice as a matter of safety and carefulness. More broadly, it comments on human weakness and the ways people use practical excuses to avoid the harder demands of virtue.