Quotes about character

The highest qualities of character must be earned.

— Lyman Abbott

It is in the character of very few men to honor without envy a friend who has prospered.

— Aeschylus

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

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

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

— Henri Frederic Amiel

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

— Maya Angelou

Temperance is simply a disposition of the mind which binds the passion.

— St. Thomas Aquinas

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

— Aristotle

Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.

— Aristotle

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.

— Earl of Arran

The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.

— Fred Astaire

If you don't run your own life, somebody else will.

— John Atkinson

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

— Decimus Magnus Ausonius

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.

— Roger Babson

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

— Faith Baldwin

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.

— Bernard M. Baruch

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.

— Henry Ward Beecher

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

— Bible

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

— Jacqueline Bisset

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.

— George D. Boardman

Character is victory organized.

— Napoleon Bonaparte

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.

— E. M. Bounds

All men are alike in their lower natures; it is in their higher characters that they differ.

— Christian Nevell Bovee

You don't get in life what you want; you get in life what you are.

— Les Brown

It is fortunate to be of high birth, but it is no less so to be of such character that people do not care to know whether you are or are not.

— Jean De La Bruyere

Temperance is a tree which as for its root very little contentment, and for its fruit calm and peace.

— Buddha

There is never a better measure of what a person is than what he does when he is absolutely free to choose.

— William M. Bulger

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.

— Abigail Van Buren

Integrity has no need of rules.

— Albert Camus

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.

— Thomas Carlyle

Character in a saint means the disposition of Jesus Christ persistently manifested.

— Oswald Chambers

Every human being is intended to have a character of his own; to be what no others are, and to do what no other can do.

— William Ellery Channing

Be your character what it will, it will be known; and nobody will take it upon your word.

— Lord Chesterfield

Character must be kept bright as well as clean.

— Lord Chesterfield

You must look into people, as well as at them.

— Lord Chesterfield

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.

— Winston Churchill

As fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also a false accusation when brought against a man of the purest and holiest character, boils over and is at once dissipated, and vanishes and threats of heaven and sea, himself standing unmoved.

— Marcus T. Cicero

Of all the properties which belong to honorable men, not one is so highly prized as that of character.

— Henry Clay

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

— Marva Collins

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

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

When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.

— Confucius

Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconcious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character

— Stephen R. Covey

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.

— Stephen R. Covey

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

— Quentin Crisp

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.

— Charlotte Saunders Cushman

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

— Benjamin Disraeli

There is no greater index of character so sure as the voice.

— Benjamin Disraeli

You can construct the character of a man and his age not only from what he does and says, but from what he fails to say and do.

— Norman Douglas

Therefore keep in the midst of life. Do not isolate yourself. Be among men and things, and among troubles, and difficulties, and obstacles.

— Henry Drummond

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.

— Henry Van Dyke

For character too is a process and an unfolding... among our valued friends is there not someone or other who is a little too self confident and disdainful; whose distinguished mind is a little spotted with commonness; who is a little pinched here and protuberant there with native prejudices; or whose better energies are liable to lapse down the wrong channel under the influence of transient solicitations?

— George Eliot

No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

That which we call character is a reserved force which acts directly by presence, and without means. It is conceived of as a certain undemonstrable force, a familiar or genius, by whose impulses the man is guided, but whose counsels he cannot impart.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gross and obscure natures, however decorated, seem impure shambles; but character gives splendor to youth, and awe to wrinkled skin and gray hairs.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do what you know and perception is converted into character.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

A character is like an acrostic or Alexandrian stanza; read it forward, backward, or across, it still spells the same thing.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

— L. Estrange

Wealth stays with us a little moment if at all: only our characters are steadfast, not our gold.

— Euripides

Character is the sum and total of a person's choices.

— P. B. Fitzwater

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.

— Edward M. Forster

You can buy a person's time; you can buy their physical presence at a given place; you can even buy a measured number of their skilled muscular motions per hour. But you can not buy enthusiasm... you can not buy loyalty. You can not buy the devotion of hearts, minds, or souls. You must earn these.

— Clarence Francis

The final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.

— Anne Frank

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

— Felix Frankfurter

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

— Robert Freeman

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

— James A. Froude

Human improvement is from within outward.

— James A. Froude

Deep down, I'm pretty superficial.

— Ava Gardner

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.

— Charles De Gaulle

Success is always temporary. When all is said and one, the only thing you'll have left is your character.

— Vince Gill

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

— Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

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

— Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Character develops itself in the stream of life.

— Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

The formation of one's character ought to be everyone's chief aim.

— Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

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

— Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Character is formed in the stormy billows of the world.

— Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

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

— Oliver Goldsmith

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

— Horace Greeley

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

— Guideposts

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

— Thomas C. Haliburton

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

— Manly Hall

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

— Colin Hay

To keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts. It makes it easier to stoop the next time.

— Katharine Hepburn

Man's character is his fate.

— Heraclitus

A man's character is his guardian divinity.

— Heraclitus

Character is our destiny.

— Heraclitus

Character is to man what carbon is to steel.

— Napoleon Hill

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

— Horace

Character is power; it makes friends, draws patronage and support and opens the way to wealth, honor and happiness.

— John Howe

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

— Harry Howell

Character is the result of two things: Mental attitude and the way we spend our time.

— Elbert Hubbard

Character is the result of a system of stereotyped principles.

— David Hume

What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character?

— Henry James

No matter how full a reservoir of maxims one may possess, and no matter how good one's sentiments may be, if one has not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity to act, one's character may remain entirely unaffected for the better.

— William James

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!.

— William James

It is well for the world that in most of us, by the age of thirty, the character has set like plaster, and will never soften again.

— William James