Motivational Quotes

Character

The man who cannot believe in himself cannot believe in anything else. The basis of all integrity and character is whatever faith we have in our own integrity.

- Smith, Roy L.

Best Quotes about Character

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

Weakness of character is the only defect which cannot be amended.

La Rochefoucauld, Francois De

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

Chesterfield, Lord

Surmounting difficulty is the crucible that forms character.

Robbins, Anthony

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

Ausonius, Decimus Magnus

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.

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

Fitzwater, P. B.

We falsely attribute to men a determined character -- putting together all their yesterdays -- and averaging them -- we presume we know them. Pity the man who has character to support -- it is worse than a large family -- he is the silent poor indeed.

Thoreau, Henry David

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

Petrarch, Francesco

10.

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

Thackeray, William M.

11.

Those who cross the sea change only the climate, not their character.

Horace

12.

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

Lois McMaster Bujold

13.

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

Thoreau, Henry David

14.

Character is always lost when a high ideal is sacrificed on the altar of conformity and popularity.

15.

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

Thoreau, Henry David

16.

An excellent man, like precious metal, is in every way invariable; A villain, like the beams of a balance, is always varying, upwards and downwards, himself his own dungeon.

Pandita, Saskya

17.

A man with a so-called character is often a simple piece of mechanism; he has often only one point of view for the extremely complicated relationships of life.

Strindberg, J. August

18.

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

19.

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

Karr, Alphonse

20.

Character is made by many acts; it may be lost by a single one.

21.

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

Thomas, John M.

22.

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

Ralph Waldo Emerson

23.

Character is formed in the stormy billows of the world.

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

24.

Nature magically suits a man to his fortunes, by making them the fruit of his character.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

25.

Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

26.

I appreciate people who are civil, whether they mean it or not. I think: Be civil. Do not cherish your opinion over my feelings. There's a vanity to candor that isn't really worth it. Be kind.

Richard Greenberg

27.

He that has light within his own clear breast may sit in the center, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts benighted walks under the mid-day sun;

Milton, John

28.

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

Tacitus, Publius Cornelius

29.

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

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

30.

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

31.

A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world.

Hall, Manly

32.

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.

33.

Some people are born hammers, others anvils.

Proverb

34.

While he was not as dumb as an ox, he was not any smarter either.

Thurber, James

35.

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.

36.

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

37.

Though intelligence is powerless to modify character, it is a dab hand at finding euphemisms for its weaknesses.

Crisp, Quentin

38.

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

39.

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

40.

You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jelly beans.

Reagan, Ronald

41.

We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.

Lincoln, Abraham

42.

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

Disraeli, Benjamin

43.

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

44.

Character is our destiny.

Heraclitus

45.

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

Jefferson, Thomas

46.

If anyone tells you someone has changed their character; don't believe it.

Mohammed

47.

It is with trifles and when he is off guard that a man best reveals his character.

Schopenhauer, Arthur

48.

You are not very good if you are not better than your best friends imagine you to be.

Lavater, Johann Kaspar

49.

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.

50.

Success is always temporary. When all is said and one, the only thing you'll have left is your character.

Gill, Vince