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

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

It isn't the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog, that counts.

Howell, Harry

Clear conscience never fears midnight knocking.

Proverb, Chinese

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

Solon

Talents are best nurtured in solitude. Character is best formed in the stormy billows of the world.

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

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

Confucius

I have often thought the best way to define a man's character would be to seek out the particular mental or moral attitude in which, when it comes upon him, he felt himself most deeply and intensely active and alive. At such moments there is a voice inside which speaks and says: This is the real me!.

James, William

The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.

Shakespeare, William

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Bible

10.

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

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

11.

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.

12.

Character is our destiny.

Heraclitus

13.

Character builds slowly, but it can be torn down with incredible swiftness.

Baldwin, Faith

14.

I could never think well of a man's intellectual or moral character, if he was habitually unfaithful to his appointments.

Nathaniel Emmons

15.

Character is victory organized.

Bonaparte, Napoleon

16.

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

Jefferson, Thomas

17.

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

Aristotle

18.

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

Thoreau, Henry David

19.

Some people are born hammers, others anvils.

Proverb

20.

Character is simply habit long continued.

Plutarch

21.

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

Marie Leneru

22.

Character is a victory, not a gift.

23.

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

Taylor, Bayard

24.

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

Merikare

25.

You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.

Goldsmith, Oliver

26.

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

Fitzwater, P. B.

27.

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

Bisset, Jacqueline

28.

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

29.

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

30.

You must regulate your life by the standards you admire when you are at your best.

Thomas, John M.

31.

Gross and obscure natures, however decorated, seem impure shambles; but character gives splendor to youth, and awe to wrinkled skin and gray hairs.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

32.

You must look into people, as well as at them.

Chesterfield, Lord

33.

Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconcious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character

Covey, Stephen R.

34.

Temperance is simply a disposition of the mind which binds the passion.

Aquinas, St. Thomas

35.

Character is a by-product; it is produced in the great manufacture of daily duty.

Wilson, Woodrow T.

36.

Pity the man who has a character to support --it is worse than a large family -- he is silent poor indeed.

Thoreau, Henry David

37.

One can acquire everything in solitude - except character.

Marie Henri Beyle

38.

Reputation is only a candle, of wavering and uncertain flame, and easily blown out, but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds merit.

Lowell, James Russell

39.

Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. It's something you weren't born with and must take responsibility for forming.

Rohn, Jim

40.

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

41.

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

42.

Strong characters are brought out by change of situation, and gentle ones by permanence.

Richter, Jean Paul

43.

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

Voltaire

44.

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

Karr, Alphonse

45.

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

46.

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

47.

Underneath this flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character.

Oscar Levant

48.

The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination, as are intelligence and necessity when unblunted by formal education.

Angelou, Maya

49.

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

50.

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.