Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a French writer, poet, and aviator best known for his novella The Little Prince. Born in Lyon in 1900, he grew up in a family with a strong military tradition, became interested in flying at a young age, and eventually pursued a career as a pilot — traveling extensively for both his work and his writing.
His experiences as an aviator profoundly shaped his work, which often explored love, loneliness, and the human condition. In addition to The Little Prince, he wrote Wind, Sand and Stars and Night Flight. His writing continues to be widely read and admired — and he is also remembered for his disappearance in 1944 while flying a reconnaissance mission during the Second World War.
“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
“What is essential is invisible to the eye, for it is only with the heart that one can see rightly.”
“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith.”
“I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
“Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.”