Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
When the strong fail to protect, the weak must protect themselves.
In plain terms
If the strong can't help, the weak must be strong.
What can you take from it?
Independence becomes necessary when protection fails.

Where it applies

  • crisis
  • parenting
  • workplace

Putting it to work

  • building resilience
  • seeking allies

Questions to consider

  • Who protects the weak?
  • When must you stand alone?

Another view

Some still rely on systemic help.

More from Milan Kundera

  1. Dreaming is not merely an act of communication; it is also an aesthetic activity, a game of the imagination, a game that is a value in itself.

    Permalink to quote #30
  2. Physical love is unthinkable without violence.

    Permalink to quote #32
  3. No, vertigo is somethng other than the fear of falling. It is the voice of emptiness below us which tempts and lures us, it is thedesire to fall, against which…

    Permalink to quote #29

Related quotes

  1. Very well, alone.

    David LowDavid Low quote #3
  2. I arise today Through the strength of heaven: Light of sun Brilliance of moon Splendor of fire Speed of lightning Swiftness of wind Depth of sea Stability of e…

    Saint PatrickSaint Patrick quote #32
  3. Alice had managed to get herself back under some sort of control, but it was thin. Thin enough to read a newspaper through, his bingo-playing mother might have…

    Stephen KingStephen King quote #136