A Tawdry Little Mind

There is a book I am fond of, called The Little Prince. It’s technically a children’s book, but frankly I like to reccomend it to everyone I can. It was written by a French aristocrat called Antoine de Saint Exupery, during the rise of Facism in Europe, and it contains some of the most sensible observations about the nature of life, made by the various people and creatures the Little Prince meets on his travels.

I give you a select few favourites…

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“Then you shall judge yourself,” the king answered. “that is the most difficult thing of all. 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.”

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“One must command from each what each can perform, the king went on. “Authority is based first of all upon reason. If you command your subjects to jump into the ocean, there will be a revolution. I am entitled to command obedience because my orders are reasonable.”
” Then my sunset?” insisted the little prince, who never let go of a question once he had asked it.
“You shall have your sunset. I shall command it. But I shall wait, according to my science of government, until conditions are favorable.”

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“Men have forgotten this truth,” said the fox. “But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

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“Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”