Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Quotes

If a sheep eats bushes does it eat flowers too?
A sheep eats whatever it finds.
Even a flower with thorn?
Even a flower with thorns.
Then what's the good of thorns?

Words are the source of misunderstandings

One must require from each one the duty which each one can perform. Accepted authority rests first of all on reason.

He is among those beings of great scope who spread their leafy branches willingly over broad horizons. To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible. It is to know shame at the sight of poverty which is not of our making. It is to be proud of a victory won by our comrades. It is to feel, as we place our stone, that we are contributing to the building of the world.

When you discover an island that belongs to nobody, it is yours.

If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.

On one star I`ll be living. On one of of the stars I will be laughing, when you look at the sky at night...You- only you -will have stars that can laugh!

What have you come to Earth for?'
'I'm having difficulties with a flower,' the little prince said.
'Ah!' said the snake.
And they were both silent.

For me you're only a little boy just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you have no need of me, either. For you I'm only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, we'll need each other. You'll be the only boy in the world for me. I'll be the only fox in the world for you....

you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat...

What did I care about my hammer, about my bolt, about thirst or death? There was, on one star, on one planet, on mine, the Earth, a little prince to be consoled! I took him in my arms. I rocked him. I told him, 'The flower you love is not in danger...I'll draw you a muzzle for your sheep...I'll draw you a fence for your flower...I' I didn't know what to say. How clumsy I felt! I didn't know how to reach him, where to find him...It's so mysterious, the land of tears.

You see the wheat fields over there? I don't eat bread. For me, wheat is of no use whatever. Wheat fields say nothing to me. Which is sad. But you have hair the color of gold. So it will be wonderful, once you've tamed me! The wheat, which is golden, will remind me of you. And I'll love the sound of the wind in the wheat...

C'est véritablement utile puisque c'est joli.
It is truly useful since it is beautiful.

One cannot live any longer on refrigerators, on politics, on balance-sheets and cross-word puzzles. One cannot live any longer without poetry, colour and love.

"All men have the stars," he answered, "but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travellers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman they were wealth. But all the stars are silent. You — you alone — will have the stars as no one else has them — "