# Quote — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

> "One must command from each what each can perform," the king went on. "Authority is based first of all upon reason. If you command your subjects to jump into the ocean, there will be a revolution. I am entitled to command obedience because my orders are reasonable."
>
> "Then my sunset?" insisted the little prince, who never let go of a question once he had asked it.
>
> "You shall have your sunset. I shall command it. But I shall wait, according to my science of government, until conditions are favorable."

- Author: [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://www.leafyquotes.com/antoine-de-saint-exupery.md)
- Book: [The Little Prince](https://www.leafyquotes.com/antoine-de-saint-exupery/the-little-prince.md)
- Original (fr): Il faut exiger de chacun ce que chacun peut donner, reprit le roi. L'autorité repose d'abord sur la raison. Si tu ordonnes à ton peuple d'aller se jeter à la mer, il fera la révolution. J'ai le droit d'exiger l'obéissance parce que mes ordres sont raisonnables. / Alors mon coucher de soleil ? rappela le petit prince qui jamais n'oubliait une question une fois qu'il l'avait posée. / Ton coucher de soleil, tu l'auras. Je l'exigerai. Mais j'attendrai, dans ma science du gouvernement, que les conditions soient favorables.
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince#Quotes) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/antoine-de-saint-exupery/the-little-prince/one-must-command

## More from this book

> "Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/antoine-de-saint-exupery/the-little-prince/men-have-forgotten.md)

> Only children know what they are looking for.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/antoine-de-saint-exupery/the-little-prince/only-children-know.md)

> If you want to make a bond, you are to take the risk of tearing.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/antoine-de-saint-exupery/the-little-prince/if-you-want.md)