Motivational Quotes

Character

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

Best Quotes about Character

Character is what you know you are, not what others think you have.

Collins, Marva

The happiness of every country depends upon the character of its people, rather than the form of its government.

Haliburton, Thomas C.

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

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

Character matters; leadership descends from character.

Limbaugh, Rush

Testimony is like an arrow shot from a long bow and the force of it depends on the strength of the arm from which it was shot. Argument is like a bullet fired from a gun and has equal force even when issued from a child.

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

Crisp, Quentin

Surmounting difficulty is the crucible that forms character.

Robbins, Anthony

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

10.

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

Thoreau, Henry David

11.

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

Thomas, John M.

12.

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

13.

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

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

14.

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

15.

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

Frankfurter, Felix

16.

If an ass goes traveling it will not come home a horse.

Proverb

17.

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

Guideposts

18.

Clear conscience never fears midnight knocking.

Proverb, Chinese

19.

Underneath this flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character.

Oscar Levant

20.

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.

21.

A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another s.

Richter, Jean Paul

22.

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

23.

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.

24.

Character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which self respect springs.

Joan Didion

25.

Life every man holds dear; but the dear man holds honor far more precious dear than life.

Shakespeare, William

26.

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

Schopenhauer, Arthur

27.

Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility for it, makes it his own.

Gaulle, Charles De

28.

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

Mohammed

29.

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

Howell, Harry

30.

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

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

31.

Character is a victory, not a gift.

32.

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

Thoreau, Henry David

33.

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

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

34.

Deep down, I'm pretty superficial.

Gardner, Ava

35.

Nothing marks the character of a young man more than failure.

36.

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

37.

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

Lois McMaster Bujold

38.

One can easily judge the character of a person by the way they treat people who can do nothing for them.

Proverb

39.

The four cornerstones of character on which the structure of this nation was built are: initiative, imagination, individuality, and independence.

Rickenbacker, Edward Vernon

40.

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

Thackeray, William M.

41.

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

42.

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

Bisset, Jacqueline

43.

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

44.

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

Nathaniel Emmons

45.

Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.

Sivananda, Sri Swami

46.

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

47.

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

48.

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

Lincoln, Abraham

49.

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