Quotes

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Love does not consist gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.

The life of the spirit, the veritable life, is intermittent, and only the life of the mind is constant.

What saves a man is to take a step. Them another step. It is always the same step, but you have to take it.

A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.

To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible. It is to feel shame at the sight of what seems to be unmerited misery. It is to take pride in a victory won by one's comrades. It is to feel, when setting one's stone, that one is contributing to the building of the world.

If it is true that wars are won by believers, it is also true that peace treaties are sometimes signed by businessmen.

Even our misfortunes are a part of our belongings

People extol their contempt for death. But I would not give a fig for anybody's contempt for death. If its roots are not sunk deep in an acceptance of responsibility, this contempt for death is the sign either of an impoverished soul or of youthful extravagance.

Each man must look to himself to teach him the meaning of life. It is not something discovered: it is something molded. These prison walls that this age of trade has built up round us, we can break down. We can still run free, call to our comrades, and marvel to hear once more, in response to our call, the impassioned chant of the human voice.

Human drama does not show itself on the surface of life. It is not played out in the visible world, but in the hearts of men. One man in misery can disrupt the peace of a city.

In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness.

It is another of the miraculous things about mankind that there is no pain nor passion that does not radiate to the ends of the earth. Let a man in a garret but burn with enough intensity and he will set fire to the world.

A spectacle has no meaning except it be seen through the glass of a culture, a civilization, a craft.

Below the sea of clouds lies eternity.

The microscope is a tool. What disservice do we do the life of the spirit when we analyze the universe through a tool created by the science of optics, or seek to bring together those who love one another and are parted in space?

Confuse not love with the ravings of possession, which bring the worst sufferings. For contrary to the general opinion, love does not cause suffering. But the instinct of ownership causes suffering, which is the contrary of love.

True, that man who struggles in the unique hope of material gain will harvest nothing worthwhile. But how can anyone conceive that the machine is an end? It is a tool. As much a tool as is the plough.

Transport of the mails, transport of the human voice, transport of flickering pictures - in this century, as in others, our highest accomplishments still have the single aim of bringing men together.

If, when Mermoz plunged into the Chilean Andes with victory in his heart, you had protested to him that no merchant's letter could possibly be worth risking one's life for, Mermoz would have laughed in your face. Truth is the man that was born in Mermoz when he slipped through the Andean passes.

You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.

One should never listen to the flowers. One should simply look at them and breathe their fragrance.

It is truly useful, since it is beautiful.

If somebody wants a sheep, that is proof that somebody exists.

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.

What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.

If you want to make a bond, you are to take the risk of tearing.