Read 25 inspirational Antoine de Saint-Exupéry quotes from his works and letters that are deeply human, poetic, and philosophical. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a French writer, aviator, and poet, best known for his novella The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince). He was born on June 29, 1900, in Lyon, France, and disappeared during a reconnaissance flight over the Mediterranean on July 31, 1944, during World War II.
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Saint-Exupéry wrote seven major books, blending aviation experiences, philosophical reflection, and poetic prose:
He also left behind posthumously published writings like Citadelle (The Wisdom of the Sands, 1948).
Saint-Exupéry left France after the Nazi occupation during WWII and he moved to the United States in 1940, where he spent several years in semi-exile writing and advocating for France’s liberation. He wrote The Little Prince during his stay in New York in 1942-43, while emotionally distressed by France’s occupation and his inability to return home, the loss of friends and comrades in war, and a deep sense of loneliness and longing for childhood innocence. He used the character of the Little Prince to explore profound themes like the loss of innocence, the absurdities of adulthood, and the value of human connection. It’s both a children’s tale and a philosophical reflection on life, love, and human nature.
Here are 25 inspirational quotes by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, especially The Little Prince, Wind, Sand and Stars, and Flight to Arras:
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” — The Little Prince
“You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” — The Little Prince
“True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new.”
“Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.” — Wind, Sand and Stars
“He who would travel happily must travel light.”
“What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.” — The Little Prince
“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.” — The Little Prince
“To live is to be slowly born.” — Flight to Arras
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
“What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.” — Wind, Sand and Stars
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” — Airman’s Odyssey
“The time for action is now. It’s never too late to do something.”
“The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude towards them.”
“Each man must look to himself to teach him the meaning of life. It is not something discovered: it is something molded.”
“Man is a knot into which relationships are tied.”
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood… but teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
“You cannot plant an acorn in the morning, and expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of an oak.”
“No one is ever satisfied where he is.” — The Little Prince
“I know but one freedom, and that is the freedom of the mind.”
“Even if you were on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
“Life has meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself.”
“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.”
“Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you who you are.”
“To become spring means accepting the risk of winter.”
“You risk tears if you let yourself be tamed.” — The Little Prince
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