Motivational Quotes

Character

A man's character is his fate.

- Heraclitus

Best Quotes about Character

The hell to be endured hereafter, of which theology tells, is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioned our characters in the wrong way.

James, William

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

Thurber, James

The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Macaulay, Thomas B.

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

Jefferson, Thomas

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.

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

Horace

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

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

Mason, John L.

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

King Jr. Martin Luther

10.

Too often the strong, silent man is silent only because he does not know what to say, and is reputed strong only because he has remained silent.

Churchill, Winston

11.

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

12.

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

Royal, Darrell

13.

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

14.

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

Confucius

15.

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

Goldsmith, Oliver

16.

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

Bible

17.

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

18.

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

Thackeray, William M.

19.

Clear conscience never fears midnight knocking.

Proverb, Chinese

20.

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

Frankfurter, Felix

21.

If all I'm remembered for is being a good basketball player, then I've done a bad job with the rest of my life.

Thomas, Isiah

22.

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

Ralph Waldo Emerson

23.

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

Joan Didion

24.

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

La Rochefoucauld, Francois De

25.

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

Richter, Jean Paul

26.

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

Ausonius, Decimus Magnus

27.

Character is victory organized.

Bonaparte, Napoleon

28.

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

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

29.

Judge of your natural character by what you do in dreams.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

30.

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

Hall, Manly

31.

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

Lois McMaster Bujold

32.

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

33.

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

34.

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

35.

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

Proverb, Chinese

36.

Integrity has no need of rules.

Camus, Albert

37.

A man's character is his fate.

Heraclitus

38.

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

Solon

39.

Character is the indelible mark that determines the only true value of all people and all their work.

Marden, Orison Swett

40.

It is better for the development of character and contentment to do certain things badly for yourself than to have them done better for you by someone else.

41.

Character is our destiny.

Heraclitus

42.

We don't love qualities, we love persons; sometimes by reason of their defects as well as of their qualities.

Maritain, Jacques

43.

Few persons are made of such strong fiber that they will make a costly outlay when surface work will pass as well in the market.

Bounds, E. M.

44.

Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.

W. Somerset Maugham

45.

Character is simply habit long continued.

Plutarch

46.

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

Elihu Burritt

47.

One stumble is enough to deface the character of an honorable life.

Estrange, L.

48.

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

Thomas, John M.

49.

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

Voltaire

50.

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