20 Important Quotes from The Little Prince
The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) is an allegorical novella by French aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944), first published in 1943.
The Little Prince tells the story of a young boy who leaves his small planet to travel the universe. During his journey to the Earth and further, he learns the moodiness of adult behavior through a series of extraordinary encounters.
The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French language and the fourth most-translated book globally. Available in more than 250 languages and dialects with sales totaling over 140 million copies worldwide, it has become one of the best-selling books ever published.
All grown-ups were once children first. But few of them remember it.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: All grown-ups were once children — although few of them remember it.)To Leon Werth, Preface
Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter I, Page 2
When someone wants a sheep, that proves he exists.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter IV, Page 12
Children should be very understanding of grown-ups.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: Children should always show great forbearance toward grown-up people.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter IV, Page 12
It’s sad to forget a friend. Not everyone has a friend.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: To forget a friend is sad. Not every one has had a friend.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter IV, Page 12
When you’ve finished washing and dressing each morning, you must tend your planet.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: When you’ve finished your own toilet in the morning, then it is time to attend to the toilet of your planet, just so, with the greatest care.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter V, Page 15
It’s so mysterious, the land of tears.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: It is such a secret place, the land of tears.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter VII, Page 21
It is much harder to judge yourself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself, it’s because you are truly a wise man.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter X, Page 32
People haven’t time to learn anything. They buy things ready-made in stores. But since there are no stores where you can buy friends, people no longer have friends.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter XXI, Page 60
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Language is the source of misunderstandings.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: Words are the source of misunderstandings.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter XXI, Page 60
You’re lovely, but you’re empty. One couldn’t die for you.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: You are beautiful, but you are empty. One could not die for you.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter XXI, Page 63
One sees clealy only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter XXI, Page 63
It’s the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter XXI, Page 64
People have forgotten this truth. But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: Men have forgotten this truth. But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter XXI, Page 64
What makes the desert beautiful, is that it hides a well somewhere…
(Translation by Katherine Woods: What makes the desert beautiful, is that somewhere it hides a well…)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter XXIV, Page 68
But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: The eyes are blind. One must look with the heart…)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter XXV, Page 71
People have stars, but they aren’t the same.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: All men have the stars, but they are not the same things for different people.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter XXVI, Page 77
For travelers, the stars are guides. For other people, they’re nothing but tiny lights.
(Translation by Katherine Woods: For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky.)(Harcourt, ed. 2000), Chapter XXVI, Page 77