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Yes. We have, in France, a real tradition of what Jean Paul Sartre, in the foreword of a book of his friend Roger Stéphane, called l’aventurier. Lawrence of Arabia, Byron, Andre Malraux. And for me, l’aventurier was a very honourable destiny. To write and to act … To live your life far from yourself, far from you bases ... To change yourself deeply … All these were real targets for me. Life is worth being lived if one takes the risk and the chance of being different than himself. To break the ropes which tie you to your place. To break the rules of your natural group. To convert yourself into something else. To change your soul.And not to do what you were formatted, shaped to do. I was shaped to be a professor, I was shaped to be just a writer. And then, Bangladesh happened.

— Bernard-Henri Lévy

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Yes. We have, in France, a real tradition of what Jean Paul Sartre, in the foreword of a book of his friend Roger Stéphane, called l’aventurier. Lawrence of Arabia, Byron, Andre Malraux. And for me, l’aventurier was a very honourable destiny. To write and to act … To live your life far from yourself, far from you bases ... To change yourself deeply … All these were real targets for me. Life is worth being lived if one takes the risk and the chance of being different than himself. To break the ropes which tie you to your place. To break the rules of your natural group. To convert yourself into something else. To change your soul.And not to do what you were formatted, shaped to do. I was shaped to be a professor, I was shaped to be just a writer. And then, Bangladesh happened." in the context of "BHL in Dhaka" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Bernard-Henri Lévy" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bernard-Henri Lévy

About Bernard-Henri Lévy

Bernard-Henri Lévy (born 5 November 1948) is a French public intellectual, media personality, and author. Often referred to in France simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the "Nouveaux Philosophes" (New Philosophers) movement in 1976. His opinions, political activism and publications have also been the subject of several controversies over the years. He frequently writes on the subject of anti-Semitism.