>In the struggle between yourself and the world, second the

The world is more powerful than you are, so it is ultimately harmful for you to struggle against it.

>>9247253
It means no matter how hard you try you'll always be nothing more than an ungeziefer in your dad's eyes.

>>9247253
not a great translation, it should be "In the struggle between yourself and the world, side with the world."

It means the first struggle is between yourself and the world and the second struggle is with the world.

Don't start thinking your interpretation of the world is ultimately the correct one

>>9248327
Kafka's dad was a DICK
Glad he got oven'd desu

>>9247253
"second" means "bet on." So he means:

"in the struggle between you and the world, bet on the world."

just a clever bit of black humor

in his specific cultural context, it was most likely that the first part of the sentence: "In the struggle between man and the world..." seemed like a set-up for some heavy philosophizing. But Kafka upsets that expectation with brutal pessimism.

>>9248533
fucking brainlet
>inb4 bait
i know

File: Screen shot 2017-03-16 at 7.57.04 PM.png (70KB, 658x401px) Image search: [Google]

70KB, 658x401px

>>9248813
>"second" means "bet on."

Would you please quit making shit up. None of my dictionaries contain that definition.

Pic related is why that translator chose that word, but nobody uses it like that anymore--the sense he's using is noted as archaic.

>>9249062
I recall that when dueling was common, the duelists would each have a "second," which was a guy who was there to back you up and could act in your place if need be. So that tells you about the time that this usage was current.

Since we are posting in English: What is the best Kafka translation?

>>9249062
You sound fucking autistic, bet on is a close enough synonym to the examples there

Also, you've never heard "second" used as a verb? You don't read widely enough. I'll admit it's clunky here though because it seems as if it could be used in the number/ordinal sense, which clearly doesn't make sense.

>>9249716
>bet on is a close enough synonym to the examples there

you just keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.

>>9249716
>Also, you've never heard "second" used as a verb?

yes, of course I have. I've never heard it used as a synonym for "bet on," which is why I looked it up when you made such a ridiculous claim.

second in this case looks like it means "act as second of", in the context of a duel, but the translation may have thrown me off

>>9249193
i "second" this question

>>9249086

Interesting, but I don't think duelling was a thing in Kafka's time.

>>9249829
exactly, which is why whoever did the translation was being needlessly obscure. Probably some gay Brit academic who used antique expressions with a flourish IRL.