Today, June 29th is the 121st birthday of French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, perhaps most famous for his children’s classic, The Little Prince. Besides his renown writing talents, he was also an accomplished pilot. According to Biography, his experiences as a pilot served as inspirations for many of his stories.
In honor of Saint-Exupéry’s birthday, here are ten of his best quotes for you to enjoy.
1. “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
2. “Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence.”
3. “Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.”
4. “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
5. “No single event can awaken within us a stranger whose existence we had never suspected. To live is to be slowly born.”
6. “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”
7. “Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions. It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning, to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak.”
8. “Night, when words fade and things come alive. When the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important becomes whole and sound again.”
9. “In every crowd are certain persons who seem just like the rest, yet they bear amazing messages.”
10. “All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.”