To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible.
Interpretation
Being a man is fundamentally about taking responsibility for one's actions and choices.
This quote by Antoine De Saint-Exupery emphasizes that true masculinity is not about physical strength or dominance, but rather about being accountable for one's actions and fulfilling one's duties. Responsibility signifies maturity and integrity, suggesting that the essence of being a man lies in one's ethical obligations and commitments to others.
In practice
A mentor could use this quote to inspire young men in a workshop about personal development.
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.
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.
I've spent my life trying to make things simpler. Because I find ultimately that complicated doesn't reach the heart.
Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.
The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger. It is his glory to overlook an offense.
The secret of a good old age is simply an honorable pact with solitude.
Like other men, I have sought honours and preferment, and often have obtained them beyond my wishes or hopes. Yet never have I found in them that content which I had figured beforehand in my mind. A strong reason, if we well consider it, why we should disencumber ourselves of vain desires.
Americans are like a rich father who wishes he knew how to give his son the hardships that made him rich.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.