Motivational Quotes

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

Best Quotes about Character

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Abraham Lincoln

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

A man's character is the reality of himself; his reputation, the opinion others have formed about him; character resides in him, reputation in other people; that is the substance, this is the shadow.

Beecher, Henry Ward

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

Thoreau, Henry David

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

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.

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

Solon

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

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

10.

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

Hall, Manly

11.

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

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

12.

While an original is always hard to find, he is easy to recognize.

Mason, John L.

13.

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

James A. Froude

14.

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

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

15.

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

16.

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

17.

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

Hay, Colin

18.

If you stand straight, do not fear a crooked shadow.

Proverb, Chinese

19.

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

20.

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

Confucius

21.

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

La Rochefoucauld, Francois De

22.

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

Petrarch, Francesco

23.

Character, in great and little things, means carrying through what you feel able to do.

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

24.

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

Lincoln, Abraham

25.

To have character is to be big enough to take life on.

Richards, Mary Caroline

26.

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

27.

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

28.

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

29.

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

Ausonius, Decimus Magnus

30.

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

Hermann Hesse

31.

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

Nathaniel Emmons

32.

The highest qualities of character must be earned.

Abbott, Lyman

33.

Character is simply habit long continued.

Plutarch

34.

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

Merikare

35.

Our character...is an omen of our destiny, and the more integrity we have and keep, the simpler and nobler that destiny is likely to be.

George Santayana

36.

Character develops itself in the stream of life.

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

37.

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.

38.

Character is another thing that is formed in youth and reformed in marriage.

39.

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

Jefferson, Thomas

40.

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

Reynolds, Sir Joshua

41.

Let us not say, every man is the architect of his own fortune; but let us say, every man is the architect of his own character.

Boardman, George D.

42.

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

Ralph Waldo Emerson

43.

Character is like the foundation of a house -- it is below the surface.

44.

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.

45.

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

Aristotle

46.

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

Ralph Waldo Emerson

47.

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

Guideposts

48.

Old age and sickness bring out the essential characteristics of a man.