“I know a planet inhabited by a red faced gentleman. He’s never smelled a flower. He’s never looked at a star, He’s never loved anyone. He’s never done anything except add up numbers. And all day long he says over and over, just like you, ‘I’m a serious man! I’m a serious man!’ And that puffs him up with pride. But he’s not a man at all-He’s a mushroom!”
More from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them…”
“Once you are my friend, I am responsible for you.”
“Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But…”
“Of course I love you, it is my fault that you have not known it all the while.”