Franz Kafka — Quote from The Zuerau Aphorisms
“In the struggle between yourself and the world, second the world.”
The Zuerau Aphorisms (1917)
Concepts: absurd, conformity, escape
Resonant Quotes
- “Nothing has ever been more insupportable for a man and a human society than f...” — Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Kafka's counsel to surrender to the world's struggle resonates with Dostoevsky's insight about freedom's unbearable w...
- “People never change their lives, that in any case one life was as good as ano...” — Albert Camus, The Stranger Camus's resigned acceptance of life's equivalence embodies Kafka's counsel to surrender to the world's overwhelming f...
- “Man is sometimes extraordinarily, passionately, in love with suffering.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground Kafka's recommendation to side with the world against oneself echoes Dostoevsky's observation about humanity's love o...
- “The person who gives up his individual self and becomes an automaton, identic...” — Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom Both explore the tension between individual authenticity and social conformity, though Kafka's aphoristic pessimism c...
- “Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment While both address human reluctance to act, Kafka advocates surrendering to the world's overwhelming force whereas Do...