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The closing years of life are like the end of a masquerade party, when the masks are dropped.

Cesare Pavese

Living is like working out a long addition sum, and if you make a mistake in the first two totals you will never find the right answer. It means involving oneself in a complicated chain of circumstances.
CESARE PAVESE

Addition Complication Live Mistake Right Work
Love has the faculty of making two lovers seem naked, not in each other’s sight, but in their own.
CESARE PAVESE

Love Lover Naked Sight
When writing poetry, it is not that produces a bright idea, but the bright idea that kindles the fire of.
CESARE PAVESE

Bright Fire Ideas Poetry Production Writing
A man is never completely alone in this world. At the worst, he has the company of a boy, a youth, and by and by a grown man – the one he used to be.
CESARE PAVESE

Boy Growth Himself Man Philosophy Wisdom Youth
Love is the cheapest of religions.
CESARE PAVESE

Cheap Love One Liner Religion
In general, the man who is readily disposed to sacrifice himself is one who does not know how else to give meaning to his life. The profession of enthusiasm is the most sickening of all insincerities.
CESARE PAVESE

Insecurity Man Ready Sacrifice Sick Yourself
Will power is only the tensile strength of one’s own disposition. One cannot increase it by a single ounce.
CESARE PAVESE

Power Single Strength Willing
The search for a new personality is futile; what is fruitful is the interest the old personality can take in new activities.
CESARE PAVESE

Activity Fruit Personality Search
But all years are stupid. It’s only when they’re over that they become interesting.
CESARE PAVESE

Interest Lost Stupidity Time Wisdom
Lessons are not given, they are taken.
CESARE PAVESE

Knowledge Lesson Wisdom
What we desire is not to possess a woman, but to be the only one to possess her.
CESARE PAVESE

Access Desire Oneself Possession Woman Worth
A decision, an action, are infallible omens of what we shall do another time, not for any vague, mystic, astrological reason but because they result from an automatic reaction that will repeat itself.
CESARE PAVESE

Action Decision Reaction Repeat Result Time
You don’t remember days, you remember moments.
CESARE PAVESE

Day Moments Remember Yourself
I am the captain of my destiny, I do not abandon the ship in hard times, But, I do have sense enough not to go down with the ship.
CESARE PAVESE

Abandonment Captain Destiny Enough Hard Time Myself
Those philosophers who believe in the absolute logic of truth have never had to discuss it on close terms with a woman.
CESARE PAVESE

Discussion Logic Philosophy Woman
What world lies beyond that stormy sea I do not know, but every ocean has a distant shore, and I shall reach it.
CESARE PAVESE

Beyond Lying Ocean Reach World
There comes a day when, for someone who has persecuted us, we feel only indifference, a weariness at his stupidity. Then we forgive him.
CESARE PAVESE

Day Feeling Forgiveness Himself Stupidity
Death is repose, but the thought of death disturbs all repose.
CESARE PAVESE

Death Disturb Repose
We must never say, even in fun, that we are disheartened, because someone might take us at our word.
CESARE PAVESE

Feeling Heart Ourselves Word
The cadence of suffering has begun. Every evening at dusk, my heart constricts until night has come.
CESARE PAVESE

Beginning Heart Night Suffering
We want Realism’s wealth of experience and Symbolism’s depth of feeling. All art is a problem of balance between two opposites.
CESARE PAVESE

Balance Deep Feeling Opposite Problem Reality Wealth
Perfect behaviour is born of complete indifference.
CESARE PAVESE

Born Complete Difference Perfection
Woman gives herself as a prize to the weak and as a prop to the strong and no man ever has what he should.
CESARE PAVESE

Himself Strong Weakness Woman
The only joy in the world is to begin. It is good to be alive because living is beginning, always, every moment.
CESARE PAVESE

Alive Beginning Goodness Job Moments World
Don’t mix wine and women.
CESARE PAVESE

One Liner Wine Woman
It had to happen to you, to concentrate your whole life on one point, and then discover that you can do anything except live at that point.
CESARE PAVESE

Exception Life Live Point Yourself
The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten.
CESARE PAVESE

Forget Life Memories Rich

The closing years of life are like the end of a masquerade party, when the masks are dropped.

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The closing years of life are like the end of a masquerade party, when the masks are dropped.

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