Aphorisms

In the past, men and women had many relationships within a tribe; then marriage was invented, and civilization began.

There is nothing more perfect in this world than the deep union of a man and a woman—unfortunately, many cannot withstand the pressure and fail to reach that depth.

Marriage often begins before the wedding, which is why many couples experience no change after the ceremony.

At its start, marriage is a feeling upon which shared plans and experiences are built.

A bad marriage is one bond between two people, a good marriage is many bonds between two people, and the best marriage is many bonds between three—husband, wife, and God between them.

In a marriage, some bonds must always suffer. Christ told the apostles, "Drink my blood and eat my body"—anyone who has been married for 10 years understands these words perfectly.

A marriage is not refreshed by maintaining bonds but by creating new ones between husband and wife.

A happy marriage is an adventure that begins with faith in a shared future and ends with gratitude for a shared past.

Nothing has civilized humanity more than the idea of marriage.

Both men and women want to prepare for marriage for a long time, as only then will they value the marital relationship enough until it strengthened.

Those who do not prepare for marriage quickly divorce.

Today, some women want to marry women, some men want to marry men, and some men and women don’t want marriage at all, but the happiest men and women are still those who enter marriage and persevere in it.

Often, after having children, people forget they have a marriage alongside their children.

Forgetting marriage is not terrible; forgetting love is.

In a happy marriage, happy children are raised.

Happy children have parents in a happy marriage.

A happy marriage is flexibly structured.

It’s good when a man and woman argue, but it’s even better when they learn to talk.

In a happy marriage, a man and woman never try to convince or control each other—they simply say what they think.

Without humor, there is no happy marriage.

A happy marriage is both deeply serious and deeply playful.

The term *polis* once denoted a city; today it refers to the police. What does this tell us

Only a foolish person believes in the existence of “politicians.” There are no politicians, only individuals who engage in politics to varying degrees.

Aristotle, exiled by the Athenians, understood that politics is inescapable—whether we engage with it or not, it engages with us.

Politics is not inherently bad, just as economics, art, or sports are not bad—across all domains of human endeavor, it is only people who are bad, and bad people corrupt every field they touch.

Bad people are most drawn to politics, for it offers the greatest power, making lying, cheating, and plundering most rewarding.

Evil people in politics do not merely seek to lie, cheat, and plunder like the bad; they crave blood and desire to kill.

Even the worst people in politics eventually grow sated and begin to understand what politics truly is. However, evil people in politics never reach satiety.

Hungry people are often bad, for they cease to choose their means to satisfy their hunger. The evil, however, possess a hunger that nothing and no one can satiate - no one besides God.

Politics is one of the noblest and most essential tasks that good people must undertake — above all, to prevent bad people from engaging in it. Evil people, however, cannot be stopped by good people, but only by those who transform into embodiments of love.

The primary task of politics is to divest political power from those in politics and transfer it to the people. Regrettably, only the best and greatest individuals have so far relinquished their own power for the benefit of the people.

The issue lies not in the ingratitude of the people, but in the ingratitude of those in politics.

No one in politics should expect gratitude from the people; rather, they should daily express gratitude to the people for the privilege of engaging in politics.

Politics is infinite, while the work of any individual in politics is finite. Good people in politics are aware of this and thus dedicate most of their time to involving more good people in politics.

Engage in politics, for it inevitably engages with you.

Politics has always had only two functions: organizing living spaces and societal laws. Regrettably, bad people often turn politics into something harmful, whereas evil people transform politics into hell on earth.

Politics is not bad; people are bad.

The worse the people in politics, the more crucial it is for good people to engage in politics.

What distinguishes good from bad people in politics? Good people strive to improve the lives of the people, while bad people seek to improve their own lives at the expense of the people.

What is the difference between evil and love in politics? Evil seeks control and is willing to resort to bloodshed and sacrifice, while love seeks trust and permits neither bloodshed nor sacrifice.

Politics confuses, for bad people in it begin to appear good, and good people bad—but this is only at first glance. Those who delve deeper quickly discern who is good and who is bad. Distinguishing between love and evil is sometimes harder, but there is a trick: those who speak of love while inciting hatred and killing are evil.

Sometimes it seems that all people are bad and all are good and all are evil. But it only seems that way, because in each of us lies the potential for all of these. In truth people are only that what they decide to be.

Anyone who is bad in politics is truly foolish, for in the long run they harm not only themselves but also their children and grandchildren.

Albert Einstein said that two things are infinite: the cosmos and human stupidity—though he wasn’t certain about the cosmos. I hope he included his own stupidity, for he was also a man afterall, not a tree. Sometimes I ask myself, how stupid was Mileva to bind herself to Albert

The best proof of the infinity of human stupidity is how much people admire Einstein’s statement that human stupidity is infinite. Basically everyone seems to think this statement applies only to others.

Those surprised by the extent of malice and stupidity in us humans have yet to participate in serious political discussions.

In politics, it matters not who wins, as long as everyone feels like a winner.

For bad people in politics, only their own victory matters; for good people, it matters that everyone feels like a winner.

Politics does not make people bad; people make politics bad.

A wise person in politics tends to the sheep and seeks those that are lost; a bad person in politics seeks to fence, shear, and milk the sheep; an evil person enters politics as a wolf in sheep’s clothing and leaves behind a blood bath.

Good politics often suffers from poor administration, while bad politics, regrettably, often enjoys highly efficient administration.

The creation of artificial intelligence is a great leap for humanity—with its help, we can all begin to engage in politics while delegating administration to artificial intelligence.

Politics is the struggle of the strong for human hearts; the victor dictates what happens next until defeated by another. The weak, however, do not fight; they merely try to discern the winner in advance and align with them. Regrettably, there are far more weak than strong people, so few fight while many merely observe.

Ignore your children more than you fuss over them; those who have plenty of freedom and occasional grounded guidance develop best.

People are monsters; children are little monsters. Only good upbringing can turn them into humans.

Play with your children as much as possible—it’s the best way to educate and entertain both them and you.

Raise yourself, and your children will raise themselves.

It takes time and a lot of love for children to start doing what their parents say. But imitating their parents starts immediately.

For a child who thrives socially, work on discovering their life’s path. For a child who knows where they’re going but is self-centred, teach them how to navigate society.

Look for gaps in your children’s development and open their eyes to fill them. Never do it for them.

Don’t live your life for your children, but cherish every second you spend with them.

The most learning comes from good companionship; spend time with your children regularly.

Who is more important to you than your children in this world? If there’s someone, spend more time with them than with your children.

Trust your children, even though you know they’re little monsters.

Teach your children to be silent and to fight to have a voice, for in life, those who know when to be quiet and when to be the loudest fare best.

Teach your children to believe in God, for even if none of us knows for sure whether God exists, the world is far more beautiful if we believe in Him.

Teach your children rituals by joyfully celebrating birthdays, family saint days, and festivities, preparing them with great care.

Teach your children to love each other, for after their parents, their siblings will be the ones who can love them most throughout life.

Teach your children the difference between infatuation and love. The infatuated are mad, but those who love are even madder—so imagine how beautiful love is, how much happiness it brings, and how much pain it causes when we know it’s far greater than infatuation. Still, is it better for your children to be people who love themselves, others, and life, or people who are indifferent or filled with hatred?

Inspire your children to take up sports; it’s the best way to channel their aggression into something useful.

As parents, treat your children as if you were their host in a reality you don’t fully understand—because that’s the truth.

Love your children, but occasionally show them how people can also hate.

Teach your children to be diligent and understand money from a young age. It’s better for money to work for them than for them to work for money.

Teach your children to be kind to people but aware that people can also be dangerous.

Read to your children instead of teaching them to read. They’ll learn to read, but they won’t always listen to you reading to them.

What matters to you, repeat to your children a thousand times.

Be careful that your wounds don’t pass on to your children. If they do, teach them that those are your wounds, not theirs.

Have at least four children. One will be lonely, two will fight over everything, three will leave one out, but four will be perfect. And don’t worry—people used to have ten children; you can manage.

Never control your children, but teach them to control themselves.

Don’t live your fantasies through your children; instead, tell them about the world and point out the possibilities available to them.

Maintain order, and your children will learn to maintain order.

Not long ago, there were no kindergartens or schools for all children. Today, children often spend more time in them than with their parents. So, be active in their kindergarten and school—it’s even better for your children if you raise them in a community, not just as parents.

When your children cry, let them cry and be their shoulder to cry on.

Tell stories together with your children—let them say something, you say something, and so on. It’s the best way to see what they’re thinking about and to laugh together.

When your children ask for advice on which book to read, tell them to read 2,000 books. That’s the best advice.

Tell your children about your childhood, and when you play with them, play as if you were a child again.

We invented language to communicate more easily with one another and money to trade more effortlessly. It is worth learning the language of money.

Money is an invention abused by many and understood by even fewer.

There is a mnemonic for understanding money: banknotes are diplomas we humans give and receive in exchange for fine achievements and quality goods.

Those who work earn money. Those who invest allow their money to earn money too.

Those who have no money find life easier than those who believe they never have enough.

Money does not make life better, but it makes it easier. Yet, a life with vast wealth is as burdensome as one without. With money, as with all things, it is a matter of finding the right measure.

Those who fear having too little money rarely consider how much fear great wealth can bring.

Those who do not understand money are exploited profitably by banks. Those who understand money deal with banks to their own profit.

Banks exist to serve people, but bankers seek to rule over them. All rule fades; only service endures.

Most debts begin with a trade: for time, for peace, for dignity. Be cautious—not everything is worth the exchange.

Those who have money lose money. Those who invest money gain money.

Money is not to be hoarded but to be invested.

There is a poverty that money can create: the illusion that it defines who you are.

Many inherit money without inheriting any notion of what money means.

Money changes hands even when you wish to give it to no one.

There has never been a true democracy—it will exist only when the majority of taxes are regularly distributed to citizens as a societal dividend.

A state is a democracy only when its citizens hold not just voting rights but ownership rights in it.

There is no democracy without societal dividends.

There is no greater wealth than the wealth of imagination.