The findings of psychologists are that couples are nothing but intimate enemies. They both are sabotaging each other’s lives, pulling at each other’s legs, not allowing a single moment of peace. They are bringing up a thousand and one questions, and each question finally becomes a fight.

The woman has a totally different kind of argumentation. She does not follow Aristotle; nobody knows whom she follows, what kind of logic she has, at what point she will suddenly start crying and weeping and tears will be coming. The man thinks, “My God, who would have thought?…I have simply given a rational answer, now what to do?”

He has been reading books and consulting libraries about how to have a good married life, and he knows every argument. But one knows not what kind of logic this woman follows. Suddenly she starts shouting, throwing things – which is not at all logical. No book of logic suggests that you break plates and cups and saucers. But logic or not, seeing that the whole house is in an earthquake, it is better to accept defeat.

It is not a question of logical victory; victory is always for the woman. You can have logic, she will have victory. This is a simple division.

So the poor husband has the logic. Every morning with his umbrella by his side, keeping his logic, he goes to the office…just wondering if perhaps poets are right, that nobody understands the nature of women. In fact, there is nothing to understand. It is so simple: she does not know logic – nothing else! So she creates a nuisance. If you cannot bring a sensible argument, the best way is to shout and create a nuisance – as much as you can.

One of my professors…he was a professor of law and a very famous professor. I had nothing to do with his classes, but once in a while he used to invite me. He loved to argue, and I used to say to him, “Listen, I don’t know law at all. I can argue because I know logic, but my logic will not be in legal jargon. I don’t know legal jargon.”

He said, “Still, you come. Without you I don’t enjoy.”

Once a week he used to have a discussion class, and one day he said, “I shall tell you the secret of the great legal experts of the world. If you have the law in your favor, be very polite to the judge, be very polite to the court, just put your case in simple legal form. The law is in your favor – there is no need to do anything else.

“But if you are suspicious, you don’t know whether the law is in your favor or not and you are sitting on the fence – the camel can sit on either side – then don’t go alone. Let your secretary and your assistant carry big books of law – as big as possible.