Authors / Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry quotes

1900–1944 · French aviator and writer

A pilot who wrote, Saint-Exupéry disappeared over the Mediterranean in 1944, a year after The Little Prince appeared.

1 real · 2 not theirs

Really theirs

1 quotes traced to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's own work or a reliable witness.

Sourced
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Source: The Little Prince, ch. 21 (1943)

Not theirs

2 famous lines credited to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that are misquoted, unsourced or belong to someone else.

Misquoted
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood… teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

The real words: A free modern paraphrase of a passage in Citadelle (1948). The ship-building wording is not his.

Not theirs
A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Actually: Not found in Saint-Exupéry's books; a modern business slogan.