Attitude is a paintbrush. It colors everything!
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Adults often prioritize superficial details over meaningful qualities in friendships.
In this quote, Antoine De Saint-Exupery critiques the adult tendency to focus on quantitative and superficial information rather than the deeper, qualitative aspects of human relationships. He suggests that while children consider essential emotional connections, adults are more concerned with numerical data and measurements, which ultimately leads to a misunderstanding of true friendship and companionship.
Themes
FriendshipRelationshipsValuesChildrenAdults
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on the essence of true friendship, this quote can emphasize the importance of understanding one another beyond superficial aspects.
More from Antoine De Saint-Exupery
All quotes →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.
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
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.
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
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.
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
Man is a knot into which relationships are tied.
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
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