Motivational Quotes

Character

The superior man will watch over himself when he is alone. He examines his heart that there may be nothing wrong there, and that he may have no cause of dissatisfaction with himself.

- Confucius

Best Quotes about Character

Everyone has the obligation to ponder well his own specific traits of character. He must also regulate them adequately and not wonder whether someone else's traits might suit him better. The more definitely his own a man's character is, the better it fits him.

Cicero

Noble character is best appreciated in those ages in which it can most readily develop.

Tacitus, Publius Cornelius

To be fond of learning is near to wisdom; to practice with vigor is near to benevolence; and to be conscious of shame is near to fortitude. He who knows these three things

Confucius

When about to commit a base deed, respect thyself, though there is no witness.

Ausonius, Decimus Magnus

For character too is a process and an unfolding... among our valued friends is there not someone or other who is a little too self confident and disdainful; whose distinguished mind is a little spotted with commonness; who is a little pinched here and protuberant there with native prejudices; or whose better energies are liable to lapse down the wrong channel under the influence of transient solicitations?

Eliot, George

Instill the love of you into all the world, for a good character is what is remembered.

Merikare

It takes a great deal of character strength to apologize quickly out of one's heart rather than out of pity. A person must possess himself and have a deep sense of security in fundamental principles and values in order to genuinely apologize.

Covey, Stephen R.

Keep in mind that the true measure of an individual is how he treats a person who can do him absolutely no good.

Landers, Ann

Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are, to some extent, a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it piece by piece-by thought, choice, courage and determination.

Luther, John

10.

Character is what you know you are, not what others think you have.

Collins, Marva

11.

The only way to compel men to speak good of us is to do it.

Voltaire

12.

A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you, and were helped by you, will remember you when forget-me-nots are withered. Carve your name on hearts, and not on marble

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon

13.

Character is a victory, not a gift.

14.

My father told me that if you saw a man in a Rolls Royce you could be sure he was not a gentleman unless he was the chauffeur.

Arran, Earl of

15.

I have only got down on to paper, really, three types of people: the person I think I am, the people who irritate me, and the people I'd like to be.

Forster, Edward M.

16.

Fame is what you have taken, character is what you give. When to this truth you awaken, then you begin to live.

Taylor, Bayard

17.

People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest.

Hermann Hesse

18.

There is never a better measure of what a person is than what he does when he is absolutely free to choose.

Bulger, William M.

19.

To succeed is nothing, it's an accident. but to feel no doubts about oneself is something very different: it is character.

Marie Leneru

20.

I would rather be adorned by beauty of character than jewels. Jewels are the gift of fortune, while character comes from within.

Plautus, Titus Maccius

21.

A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents.

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

22.

You don't get in life what you want; you get in life what you are.

Brown, Les

23.

Nothing marks the character of a young man more than failure.

24.

Few persons are made of such strong fiber that they will make a costly outlay when surface work will pass as well in the market.

Bounds, E. M.

25.

I take it as a man's duty to restrain himself.

Lois McMaster Bujold

26.

We know but a few men, a great many coats and breeches.

Thoreau, Henry David

27.

Therefore keep in the midst of life. Do not isolate yourself. Be among men and things, and among troubles, and difficulties, and obstacles.

Drummond, Henry

28.

Clear conscience never fears midnight knocking.

Proverb, Chinese

29.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.

Keller, Helen

30.

It is part of the American character to consider nothing as desperate -- to surmount every difficulty by resolution and contrivance.

Jefferson, Thomas

31.

The happiness of every country depends upon the character of its people, rather than the form of its government.

Haliburton, Thomas C.

32.

Some people are born hammers, others anvils.

Proverb

33.

The depth and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves. People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life, for only then do they have to fall back on their reserves.

Trotsky, Leon

34.

The real character of a man is found out by his amusements.

Reynolds, Sir Joshua

35.

Character, not circumstances, makes the man.

Washington, Booker T.

36.

Character is simply habit long continued.

Plutarch

37.

There's a fine line between character building and soul destroying.

Hay, Colin

38.

What you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are will be yours forever.

Dyke, Henry Van

39.

Everyone has three characters, that which they exhibit, that which they have, and that which they think they have.

Karr, Alphonse

40.

Good character is like a rubber ball -- thrown down hard -- it bounces right back. Good reputation is like a crystal ball -- thrown for gain -- shattered and cracked.

Linall Jr. A. L.

41.

Character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which self respect springs.

Joan Didion

42.

Deep down, I'm pretty superficial.

Gardner, Ava

43.

Character is the sum and total of a person's choices.

Fitzwater, P. B.

44.

As fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also a false accusation when brought against a man of the purest and holiest character, boils over and is at once dissipated, and vanishes and threats of heaven and sea, himself standing unmoved.

Cicero, Marcus T.

45.

Character develops itself in the stream of life.

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

46.

You can tell the character of every man when you see how he receives praise.

Seneca

47.

Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established.

Confucius

48.

One can acquire everything in solitude - except character.