Motivational Quotes

Character

That which we call character is a reserved force which acts directly by presence, and without means. It is conceived of as a certain undemonstrable force, a familiar or genius, by whose impulses the man is guided, but whose counsels he cannot impart.

- Emerson, Ralph Waldo

Best Quotes about Character

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

Seneca

When God measures man, He puts the tape around his heart -- not his head.

Guideposts

Honor is the inner garment of the Soul; the first thing put on by it with the flesh, and the last it layeth down at its separation from it.

Akhenaton

The hell to be endured hereafter, of which theology tells, is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioned our characters in the wrong way.

James, William

I have conquered an empire but I have not been able to conquer myself.

Peter The Great

Put more trust in nobility of character than in an oath.

Solon

Property may be destroyed and money may lose its purchasing power; but, character, health, knowledge and good judgment will always be in demand under all conditions.

Babson, Roger

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

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

10.

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

11.

It is well for the world that in most of us, by the age of thirty, the character has set like plaster, and will never soften again.

James, William

12.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

13.

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

14.

Character develops itself in the stream of life.

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

15.

During my eighty-seven years, I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions. But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or the ability to think.

Baruch, Bernard M.

16.

Your character will be what you yourself choose to make it.

Lubbock, Sir John

17.

We don't love qualities, we love persons; sometimes by reason of their defects as well as of their qualities.

Maritain, Jacques

18.

Clothes don't tell the character of the man, but they just as well talk for him as against him.

19.

Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.

W. Somerset Maugham

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.

Between ourselves and our real natures we interpose that wax figure of idealizations and selections which we call our character.

Lippmann, Walter

22.

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

Reynolds, Sir Joshua

23.

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Wooden, John

24.

The highest qualities of character must be earned.

Abbott, Lyman

25.

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

Confucius

26.

The best index to a person's character is (a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can't fight back.

Buren, Abigail Van

27.

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.

28.

If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create a character. If you create a character, you create a destiny.

Maurois, Andre

29.

If a man character is to be abused there's nobody like a relative to do the business.

Thackeray, William M.

30.

Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses or avoids.

Aristotle

31.

The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Macaulay, Thomas B.

32.

Not to be cheered by praise, not to be grieved by blame, but to know thoroughly ones own virtues or powers are the characteristics of an excellent man.

Pandita, Saskya

33.

To keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts. It makes it easier to stoop the next time.

Hepburn, Katharine

34.

Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades.

Bisset, Jacqueline

35.

One can acquire everything in solitude - except character.

Marie Henri Beyle

36.

People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

37.

There is no greater index of character so sure as the voice.

Disraeli, Benjamin

38.

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

39.

Surmounting difficulty is the crucible that forms character.

Robbins, Anthony

40.

Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

41.

Show me the man you honor, and I will know what kind of a man you are. It shows me what your ideal of manhood is, and what kind of a man you long to be.

Carlyle, Thomas

42.

Character is a victory, not a gift.

43.

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.

44.

It is better for the development of character and contentment to do certain things badly for yourself than to have them done better for you by someone else.

45.

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.

46.

How difficult it is to save the bark of reputation from the rocks of ignorance.

Petrarch, Francesco

47.

You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.

James A. Froude

48.

The character of a man is known from his conversations.

Menander

49.

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

50.

Too often the strong, silent man is silent only because he does not know what to say, and is reputed strong only because he has remained silent.

Churchill, Winston