Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

Antoine de Saint-Exupery Novelist

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: France
  • Born: Jun 29, 1900
  • Died: Jul 31, 1944

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, officially Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint Exupéry was a French aristocrat, writer, poet, and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of several of France's highest literary awards and also won the U.S. National Book Award. He is best remembered for his novella The Little Prince and for his lyrical aviation writings, including Wind, Sand and Stars and Night Flight.

Saint-Exupéry was a successful commercial pilot before World War II, working airmail routes in Europe, Africa and South America. At the outbreak of war, he joined the French Air Force, flying reconnaissance missions until France's armistice with Germany in 1940. After being demobilised from the French Air Force, he travelled to the United States to persuade its government to enter the war against Nazi Germany. Following a 27-month hiatus in North America, during which he wrote three of his most important works, he joined the Free French Air Force in North Africa, although he was far past the maximum age for such pilots and in declining health.

The machine does not isolate man from the great problems of nature but plunges him more deeply into them. great, nature & technology

The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude towards them. attitude

A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral. imagination

The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something. time

A civilization is built on what is required of men, not on that which is provided for them. men

War is not an adventure. It is a disease. It is like typhus. war

Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you who you are. love

'Men have forgotten this truth,' said the fox. 'But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.' men & truth

Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction. love

Life has meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself. life

One can be a brother only in something. Where there is no tie that binds men, men are not united but merely lined up. men

True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new. happiness

A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. design

A chief is a man who assumes responsibility. He says 'I was beaten,' he does not say 'My men were beaten.' men

Only the unknown frightens men. But once a man has faced the unknown, that terror becomes the known. men

Once men are caught up in an event, they cease to be afraid. Only the unknown frightens men. men

I know but one freedom, and that is the freedom of the mind. freedom