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.
Source: Entry for 5 May 1936; The Burning Brand: Diaries 1935-1950, 1952; tr. 1961.
-- Cesare Pavese, (Sep 9 1908-1950), Italian poet, critic, novelist, translator; He introduced many modern U.S. and English writers to Italy.