Grown-ups love figures... When you tell them you've made a new friend they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies? " Instead they demand "How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make? " Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses deep care and devotion towards someone special, emphasizing the significance of love over material concerns.
In this poignant excerpt, the narrator reflects on the profound connection and commitment he feels towards 'the little prince.' He prioritizes the emotional well-being of this beloved figure above his own struggles and material possessions, illustrating how love can overshadow life's hardships and uncertainties. The mention of creating protections and reassurance for the prince's flower symbolizes the tender and protective nature of love, which seeks to comfort and safeguard those we cherish, even when faced with the complexities of existence.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote would be perfect in a speech about the importance of nurturing relationships.
More from Antoine De Saint-Exupery
All quotes →Attitude is a paintbrush. It colors everything!
Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.
In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contadictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.
When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.
When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter. The body is an old crock that nobody will miss. I have never known a man to think of himself when dying. Never.
Similar quotes
Sweetest love, I do not go, For weariness of thee, Nor in hope the world can show A fitter love for me; But since that I Must die at last, 'tis best, To use my self in jest Thus by feign'd deaths to die.
O, a kiss_x000D_ _x000D_ Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge!_x000D_ _x000D_ Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that kiss I carried from thee, dear, and my true lip_x000D_ _x000D_ Hath virgined it e'er since.
No rival will steal away my sure love; that glory will be my gray hair.
Love is a religion, and its rituals cost more than those of other religions. It goes by quickly and, like a street urchin, it likes to mark its passage by a trail of devastation.
Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, _x000D_ Brags of his substance, not of ornament: _x000D_ They are but beggars that can count their worth; _x000D_ But my true love is grown to such excess, _x000D_ I cannot sum up half my sum of wealth.
Cities, in many ways, are the best repositories for a love affair. You are in a forest or a cornfield, you are walking by the seashore, footprint after footprint of trodden sand, and somehow the kiss or the spoken covenant gets lost in the vastness and indifference of nature. In a city there are places to remind us of what has been.