Motivational Quotes

Character

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

Best Quotes about Character

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

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

Reagan, Ronald

Forming characters! Whose? Our own or others? Both. And in that momentous fact lies the peril and responsibility of our existence.

Elihu Burritt

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.

Clear conscience never fears midnight knocking.

Proverb, Chinese

Character is victory organized.

Bonaparte, Napoleon

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

Karr, Alphonse

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

Hall, Manly

Be thou incapable of change in that which is right, and men will rely upon thee. Establish unto thyself principles of action; and see that thou ever act according to them. First know that thy principles are just, and then be thou

Akhenaton

10.

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

11.

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

12.

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

13.

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

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

14.

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

15.

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

Mason, John L.

16.

Football doesn't build character. It eliminates weak ones.

Royal, Darrell

17.

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

Howell, Harry

18.

A man's character is his fate.

Heraclitus

19.

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

Wilson, Woodrow T.

20.

Underneath this flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character.

Oscar Levant

21.

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

22.

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

23.

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

Nathaniel Emmons

24.

The character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

25.

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

26.

The highest qualities of character must be earned.

Abbott, Lyman

27.

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

Bible

28.

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

29.

It is not what he had, or even what he does which expresses the worth of a man, but what he is.

Amiel, Henri Frederic

30.

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

31.

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

32.

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

Crisp, Quentin

33.

Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted.

34.

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

35.

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

36.

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

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

37.

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

38.

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

Richards, Mary Caroline

39.

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.

40.

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

Frankfurter, Felix

41.

Character, not circumstances, makes the man.

Washington, Booker T.

42.

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

43.

Character matters; leadership descends from character.

Limbaugh, Rush

44.

Character is not made in a crisis -- it is only exhibited.

Freeman, Robert

45.

No artist work is so high, so noble, so grand, so enduring, so important for all time, as the making of character in a child.

Cushman, Charlotte Saunders

46.

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