The flower you single out is a rejection of all other flowers; nevertheless, only on these terms is it beautiful.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the idea that choosing one thing often involves rejecting alternatives, and that singularity can bring beauty.
Antoine De Saint-Exupery's quote suggests that the act of focusing on one particular beauty, like a single flower, inherently involves the rejection of others. This selective appreciation emphasizes that uniqueness stems from choice, and in this choice, the chosen object gains its beauty and significance, underscoring the complexity of understanding and valuing beauty in a world full of options.
In practice
In a discussion about art and aesthetics, this quote can be used to express the value of individual perspectives.
Grown-ups love figures... When you tell them you've made a new friend they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies? " Instead they demand "How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make? " Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
Attitude is a paintbrush. It colors everything!
Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.
In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contadictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.
When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.
When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter. The body is an old crock that nobody will miss. I have never known a man to think of himself when dying. Never.
History repeats itself, but the special call of an art which has passed away is never reproduced. It is as utterly gone out of the world as the song of a destroyed wild bird.
No writer has a right to make that much money. Indeed, without diabolical assistance, no writer can.
One must act in painting as in life, directly.
A good, sympathetic review is always a wonderful surprise.
I think I'm a vocal genius, not a musical genius. I like background vocals. I consider myself a voice, not a singer. A voice is a sound, and singing is what you do with that sound.
Writing is the art of repeating oneself without anyone noticing.
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