Talk:Antoine de Saint Exupéry

"A civilization is built on what is required of men, not on that which is provided for them." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Can this quote be verified, sourced, and if yes, added to the page?

HMiklos

The quote above in original French is in Citadelle, chapter IX: "[...] Car une civilisation repose sur ce qui est exigé des hommes, non sur ce qui leur est fourni". CSW

Photographs?

Why are there random photographs attached to some of his quotes?

Good question. I went ahead and removed them. All were captioned with quotes that already appeared elsewhere on the page, except for one:

Each man must look to himself to teach him the meaning of life. It is not something discovered; it is something molded.

Would someone else like to confirm that quote's origin, and add it back to the page—along with its original translation?

Good translation

In response to below query, here is the original quote:

Et par contre, si je communique à mes hommes l’amour de la marche sur la mer, et que chacun d’eux soit ainsi en pente à cause d’un poids dans le cœur, alors tu les verras bientôt se diversifier selon leurs mille qualités particulières. Celui-là tissera des toiles, l’autre dans la forêt par l’éclair de sa hache couchera l’arbre. L’autre, encore, forgera des clous, et il en sera quelque part qui observeront les étoiles afin d’apprendre à gouverner. Et tous cependant ne seront qu’un. Créer le navire ce n’est point tisser les toiles, forger les clous, lire les astres, mais bien donner le goût de la mer qui est un, et à la lumière duquel il n’est plus rien qui soit contradictoire mais communauté dans l’amour.

C’est pourquoi toujours je collabore, ouvrant les bras à mes ennemis pour qu’ils m’augmentent, sachant qu’il est une altitude d’où le combat me ressemblerait à l’amour.

Créer le navire, ce n’est point le prévoir en détail. Car si je bâtis les plans du navire, à moi tout seul, dans sa diversité, je ne saisirai rien qui vaille la peine. Tout se modifiera en venant au jour et d’autres que moi peuvent s’employer à ces inventions. Je n’ai point à connaître chaque clou du navire. Mais je dois apporter aux hommes la pente vers la mer.

The quote you mentioned is an abridged version of the original.

Bad translation

Current entry:

* If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.

Quand tu veux construire un bateau, ne commence pas par rassembler du bois, couper des planches et distribuer du travail, mais reveille au sein des hommes le desir de la mer grande et large.

(Note: The quote is attributed to Saint-Exupéry; it only appears in one distinct American translation of "Citadelle"; it is not referenced in the published originals)

Although translations of meaningful adages can be difficult due to the idioms inherent in language, the following is closer to the original French:

When you want to build a ship, do not begin by gathering wood, cutting boards, and distributing work, but rather awaken within men the desire for the vast and endless sea.

Agreed the top translation strikes me as awful - far too colloquial and lacking the grace and ease and literary style of the original- one of my degrees is in French with additional focus in literary translation and translation theory I propose "When you want to build a ship, do not begin by gathering wood, cutting boards, and distributing work, but awaken within the heart of man the desire for the vast and endless sea"

Unsourced

• If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.

Quand tu veux construire un bateau, ne commence pas par rassembler du bois, couper des planches et distribuer du travail, mais reveille au sein des hommes le desir de la mer grande et large.

Though attributed to Saint-Exupéry in several business self-help books (e.g.), no example written by Saint-Exupéry has been found.

Saint-Exupéry did write, Et par contre, si je communique à mes hommes l’amour de la marche sur la mer, et que chacun d’eux soit ainsi en pente à cause d’un poids dans le cœur, alors tu les verras bientôt se diversifier selon leurs mille qualités particulières. Celui-là tissera des toiles, l’autre dans la forêt par l’éclair de sa hache couchera l’arbre. L’autre, encore, forgera des clous, et il en sera quelque part qui observeront les étoiles afin d’apprendre à gouverner. Et tous cependant ne seront qu’un. Créer le navire ce n’est point tisser les toiles, forger les clous, lire les astres, mais bien donner le goût de la mer qui est un, et à la lumière duquel il n’est plus rien qui soit contradictoire mais communauté dans l’amour. — Citadelle, 1948

• Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit.

• There is no hope of joy except in human relations.

• True love is inexhaustible: the more you give, the more you have.

• I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things.

• You do not inherit the earth from your ancestors: you borrow it from your children.

On n'hérite pas de la terre de ses ancètres, on l'emprunte à ses enfants.

• 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. This appears to exist only in the translation (that is, the one by Lewis Galantiere, published by Harcourt-Brace in 1967), and an equivalent does not seem to exist in the original.

"Meaning of things" quote

I have seen this quote attributed to Saint Exupery:

The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude towards them.

Can anyone confirm it at a real quote? DBlomgren (talk) 09:45, 17 November 2012 (UTC)