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Cesare Pavese Quotes

Poet

Cesare Pavese, an Italian poet, was born on September 9, 1908, and died on August 27, 1950. His poetry is deeply influenced by the Italian literary tradition and blends modernist styles.

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All Men Knows Ifs Life World Suffering Love People Doe Moments Suicide Believe Destiny Home Lying Night Remember Should Want Whole

Famous Cesare Pavese Quotes

“In the island the gods are killed, killed like animals. And the man who kills a god becomes a god himself.”

Men Death Becoming Gods

Book:Dialoghi con Leucò

Source: Dialoghi con Leucò

“The man of action is not the headstrong fool who rushes into danger with no thought for himself, but the man who puts into practice the things he knows.”

Knows Men Action Practice Danger He Man Fool Headstrong

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“Why does a man who is truly in love insist that this relationship must continue and be "lifelong"? Because life is pain and the enjoyment of love is an anesthetic. Who would want to wake up halfway through an operation?”

Men Want Love Doe Pain Life Is Love Is Wake Up Operations Enjoyment Halfway Lifelong Anesthetics Life Is Pain

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“War makes men barbarous because, to take part in it, one must harden oneself against all regret, all appreciation of delicacy and sensitive values. One must live as if those values did not exist, and when the war is over one has lost the resilience to return to those values.”

Ifs Men War Values Lost Regret Return Oneself Appreciation Resilience Sensitive Delicacy

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“Are you or aren't you convinced that weakness is a man's condition? How can you raise yourself if you haven't fallen first?”

Ifs Men Firsts Conditions Havens Weakness Raises Convinced Fallen

Book:Selected Works: Translated from the Italian and with an Introd. by R. W. Flint

Source: Selected Works: Translated from the Italian and with an Introd. by R. W. Flint

“A man succeeds in completing a work only when his qualities transcend that work.”

Men Work Quality Succeed Completing

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“Misfortunes cannot suffice to make a fool into an intelligent man.”

Men Fool Intelligent Misfortunes Intelligent Man

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“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.”

Knows Men Giving Doe Know How Sacrifice He Man Profession Enthusiasm Insincerity

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“You cannot insult a man more atrociously than by refusing to believe he is suffering .”

Men Believe Suffering Insult

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“No matter how much a young man likes to think for himself, he is always trying to model himself on some abstract pattern largely derived from the example of the world around him. And a man, no matter how conservative, shows his own worth by his personal deviation from that pattern.”

Thinking Men World Trying Matter Shows Young Example Models Patterns Conservative Likes Young Man Abstract Always Trying Deviation

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“When a woman marries she belongs to another man; and when she belongs to another man there is nothing more you can say to her.”

Men Another Man

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“People who don't know any better will always be in the dark because the power lies in the hands of men who take good care that ordinary folk don't understand, in the hands, that is, of the government, of the clerical party, of the capitalists.”

People Knows Men Hands Government Care Lying Dark Party Ordinary Folks Capitalist

Author:Cesare Pavese

“Many men on the point of an edifying death would be furious if they were suddenly restored to health.”

Ifs Men Would Be Furious

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“There is no finer revenge than that which others inflict on your enemy. Moreover, it has the advantage of leaving you the role of a generous man.”

Men Enemy Roles Advantage Leaving Revenge Generous Generous Man

Book:This Business of Living: Diary: 1935-1950

Source: This Business of Living: Diary: 1935-1950

“When a man mourns for someone who has played him false, it is not for love of her, but for his own humiliation at not having deserved her trust.”

Men Humiliation Mourn

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“Men who have a tempestuous inner life and do not seek to give vent to it by talking or writing are simply men who have no tempestuous inner life. Give company to a lonely man and he will talk more than anyone.”

Men Giving Writing Company Talking Lonely Inner Life Lonely Man

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“In fact a man in love or one consumed with hatred creates symbols for himself, as a superstitious man does, from a passion of conferring uniqueness on things or persons. A man who knows nothing of symbols is one of Dante's sluggards. This is why art mirrors itself in primitive rites or strong passions, seeking for symbols, revolving round the primitive taste for savagery, for what is irrational (blood and sex).”

Source: This Business of Living: Diaries 1935-1950

“The man who cannot live with charity, sharing other men's pain, is punished by feeling his own with intolerable anguish.”

Men Feelings Pain He Man Charity Anguish

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“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.”

Men World Used Company Boys Worst Loneliness This World Youth Used To Be Single Being Single Grown Man

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

“The slowness of time, for a man who knows nothing will happen, is brutal.”

Knows Men Happens Time Brutal Slowness

Author:Cesare Pavese

“Woman gives herself as a prize to the weak and as a prop to the strong and no man ever has what he should.”

Men Giving Should Strong Weak Prize Props

Book:This Business of Living

Source: This Business of Living

About the Author

Born: September 9, 1908
Died: August 27, 1950
Known for: Poet
Quotes: 193

Books & Sources

This Business of LivingRelated source material

Selected Works: Translated from the Italian and with an Introd. by R. W. FlintRelated source material

Il mestiere di vivere: Diario 1935-1950Related source material

This Business of Living: Diary: 1935-1950Related source material

La casa in collinaRelated source material

The Burning Brand: Diaries 1935-1950Related source material

This Business of Living: Diaries 1935-1950Related source material

Disaffections: complete poems 1930-1950Related source material

La bella estateRelated source material

La luna e i falòRelated source material

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