Motivational Quotes

Character

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

Best Quotes about Character

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

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

Elihu Burritt

Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, and riches take wings. Only one thing endures and that is character.

Greeley, Horace

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

Character, not circumstances, makes the man.

Washington, Booker T.

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

Nathaniel Emmons

Underneath this flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character.

Oscar Levant

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

Reagan, Ronald

Deep down, I'm pretty superficial.

Gardner, Ava

10.

The character of a man is known from his conversations.

Menander

11.

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

12.

Character is the result of a system of stereotyped principles.

Hume, David

13.

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

Hay, Colin

14.

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

Tacitus, Publius Cornelius

15.

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

Thomas, John M.

16.

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

17.

The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination, as are intelligence and necessity when unblunted by formal education.

Angelou, Maya

18.

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Wooden, John

19.

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.

20.

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

21.

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.

22.

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

Wilson, Woodrow T.

23.

Fame is what you have taken, character is what you give. When to this truth you awaken, then you begin to live.

Taylor, Bayard

24.

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

James A. Froude

25.

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

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

26.

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

27.

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

Ralph Waldo Emerson

28.

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

29.

Character builds slowly, but it can be torn down with incredible swiftness.

Baldwin, Faith

30.

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

31.

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

Haliburton, Thomas C.

32.

Characters do not change. Opinions alter, but characters are only developed.

Disraeli, Benjamin

33.

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

Crisp, Quentin

34.

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

Proverb, Chinese

35.

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

Merikare

36.

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

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

Joan Didion

39.

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

40.

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

41.

Character is to man what carbon is to steel.

Hill, Napoleon

42.

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

43.

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.

44.

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

Thoreau, Henry David

45.

To succeed is nothing -- it's an accident. But to feel no doubts about oneself is something very different: it is character.

Leneru, Marie

46.

Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. It's something you weren't born with and must take responsibility for forming.

Rohn, Jim

47.

Few people can distinguish the genuinely good from the reverse.

Juvenal, (Decimus Junius Juvenalis)

48.

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

Ausonius, Decimus Magnus

49.

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

50.

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

Marden, Orison Swett