You're beautiful, but you're empty.... No one could die for you.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that external beauty is meaningless without inner substance or depth.
In this quote, Antoine De Saint-Exupery conveys a profound truth about the nature of beauty and worth. While someone may possess striking physical beauty, it is their inner qualities, such as character, empathy, and emotional depth, that truly define their value. The mention of emptiness implies that beauty alone is not enough to inspire deep emotional connections or sacrifices, as love and commitment require substance beyond mere appearances.
In practice
During a discussion about the importance of character over looks at a school assembly.
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.
Why can we remember the tiniest detail that has happened to us, and not remember how many times we have told it to the same person.
Wanderers eastward, wanderers west, Know you why you cannot rest? 'Tis that every mother's son Travails with a skeleton. Lie down in the bed of dust; Bear the fruit that bear you must; Bring the eternal seed to light, And morn is all the same as night.
The story of the redemption will not stand examination. That man should redeem himself from the sin of eating an apple by committing a murder on Jesus Christ, is the strangest system of religion ever set up.
Life at court does not satisfy a man, but it keeps him from being satisfied with anything else.
Where both reason and experience fall short, there occurs a vacuum that can be filled by faith.
Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody can read.
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