There are three roads to ruin; women, gambling and technicians.

Hearken, O seeker of wisdom, to the words of Georges Pompidou, a man who bore the weight of nations and spoke as one who had seen the hidden snares along the path of power. He uttered this warning: “There are three roads to ruin; women, gambling and technicians. The most pleasant is with women, the quickest is with gambling, but the surest is with technicians.” These words, though framed with wit, conceal a depth of counsel meant for all who would guard their fortune, their honor, and their dominion. Let us unfold their meaning as the ancients unrolled the scrolls of wisdom, that you may not stumble where others have fallen.

First, he speaks of women—not in contempt of their nature, but in recognition of the peril that arises when desire blinds reason. Many kings and warriors, in the burning of their passion, have surrendered crown, sword, and destiny. Recall Antony, who for the love of Cleopatra turned his back on Rome’s call, and thereby brought down not only his own house but shook the pillars of empire. This ruin is the most pleasant, for it is wrapped in sweetness, in music, in beauty, yet it is a honeyed wine that weakens the hand and clouds the mind.

Next comes gambling, the quick road. For in it lies the fever of chance, the illusion that fate may be compelled by dice or cards. How many strong men have fallen into poverty not by laziness, but by the hope of gain unearned? The ancients warned that Fortuna is a goddess who smiles only to betray. One need only look to the fall of noble families who squandered estates upon the gaming tables of Paris or London, turning centuries of honor into a single night’s ashes. The ruin here is swifter, for what is lost in one reckless wager may never be regained in a lifetime.

But the third, the most insidious, lies with technicians—those whose hands shape the tools of industry, the wheels of bureaucracy, the engines of progress. Pompidou, who governed in the age of machines and expanding state power, saw that when leaders surrender judgment to experts, they are led not by wisdom but by narrow vision. The technician knows much of the part but little of the whole. He refines, he calculates, he designs—but he does not weigh the spirit of man. Thus, ruin by technicians is the surest, for it creeps not with pleasure nor with haste, but with inevitability. The nation that forgets the human heart and entrusts all to systems and specialists shall wake one day to find itself bound in chains of its own making.

Consider the tale of the Trojan Horse. The craftsmen, skilled in wood and artifice, built a marvel that was offered as a gift. The leaders of Troy, trusting in appearances, did not heed the warnings of wisdom but placed their faith in the work of technical hands. Thus was Troy undone—not by pleasure, not by chance, but by misplaced trust in craft divorced from prudence. Such is the fate Pompidou warns against: when rulers lean wholly upon specialists and ignore the counsel of vision, the city is doomed, even if the walls are tall and the gates are strong.

Therefore, my child, the teaching is clear: do not despise women, but temper love with reason; do not shun chance, but never bow to its altar; and above all, honor technicians for their skill, but never yield your judgment entirely to them. The ruler, the leader, the master of his own soul must always keep the vision of the whole, lest he be enslaved by the parts. Wisdom, not expertise alone, preserves the kingdom.

What, then, shall you do? Walk with balance. When pleasure calls, remember that delight must not enslave. When fortune tempts, remember that labor is surer than chance. When experts advise, remember to seek not only what is possible, but what is right. Consult widely, but let your heart and conscience be the final measure. Build your house upon virtue, not upon the shifting sands of desire, hazard, or narrow knowledge.

So let these words be engraved upon your heart: The most pleasant ruin is by women, the quickest is by gambling, the surest is by technicians. Yet the wise will not fear these roads, but will guard against them, steering always toward the path of balance, vision, and wisdom. For he who masters himself masters fate, and he who sees the whole commands the parts. Thus may your life, unlike those of the fallen, be not a ruin, but a monument.