The universality of The Little Prince is largely due to its high philosophical content, as it contains a profound reflection on the meaning of life that has spread across many cultures in the form of sententious statements created by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. These pearls of wisdom belong to the group of educated paremias, the so-called “aphorisms”, i.e. paremias of known origin. Here are some of them in French, Spanish and English:

On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

 

Les grandes personnes ne comprennent jamais rien toutes seules, et c’est fatigant, pour les enfants, de toujours leur donner des explications.

Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them

 

Toutes les grandes personnes ont d’abord été des enfants, mais peu d’entre elles s’en souviennent.

All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.

 

Les enfants seuls savent ce qu’ils cherchent.

Only the children know what they are looking for.