We say nothing essential about the cathedral when we speak of its stones. We say nothing essential about Man when we seek to define him by the qualities of men.
You risk tears if you let yourself be tamed.
No destiny attacks us from outside. But, within him, man bears his fate and there comes a moment when he knows himself vulnerable; and then, as in a vertigo, blunder upon blunder lures him.
Action and personal happiness have no truck with each other; they are eternally at war.
The strong are strengthened by reverses; the trouble is that the true meaning of events scores next to nothing in the match we play with men. Appearances decide our gains or losses and the points are trumpery. And a mere semblance of defeat may hopelessly checkmate us.
You see, one loves the sunset when one is so sad.
The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists.
He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man.
One must observe the proper rites.
Living is being born slowly. It would be a little too easy if we could borrow ready-made souls.
Navigating by the compass in a sea of clouds over Spain is all very well, it is very dashing, but – you want to remember that below the sea of clouds lies eternity.
You’ll be bothered from time to time by storms, fog, snow. When you are, think of those who went through it before you, and say to yourself, ‘What they could do, I can do.’
Flying is a man’s job and its worries are a man’s worries.
The friend within the man is that part of him which belongs to you and opens to you a door which never, perhaps, is opened to another. Such a friend is true, and all he says is true; and he loves you even if he hates you in other mansions of his heart.
If I were to command a general to turn into a seagull, and if the general did not obey, that would not be the general’s fault. It would be mine.
The Beauty of the Mountain is hidden for all those who try to discover it from the top, supposing that, one way or an other, one can reach this place directly. The Beauty of the Mountain reveals only to those who climbed it...
It is the duty of the ship’s captain to make port, cost what it may.
When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.
It is not for us to forecast the future, but to shape it.
The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude towards them in particular caused by what we compare it to: something worse and we feel grateful for what we have; something better and we feel somehow let down.