Lost wealth may be replaced by industry, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance or medicine, but lost time is gone forever.
Samuel SmilesRead
Character is property. It is the noblest of possessions.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Character is more valuable than material possessions.
In this quote, Samuel Smiles emphasizes the importance of character as a fundamental aspect of one's identity and worth. Unlike material wealth, which can be transient and superficial, character represents a person's integrity, values, and moral fiber, making it an invaluable possession that defines true nobility and respect in society.
Themes
CharacterPropertyNobilityPossessionsIntegrity
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about personal development.
More from Samuel Smiles
All quotes →Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.
Samuel SmilesRead
The career of a great man remains an enduring monument of human energy. The man dies and disappears, but his thoughts and acts survive and leave an indelible stamp upon his race.
Samuel SmilesRead
Wisdom and understanding can only become the possession of individual men by travelling the old road of observation, attention, perseverance, and industry.
Samuel SmilesRead
An intense anticipation itself transforms possibility into reality; our desires being often but precursors of the things which we are capable of performing.
Samuel SmilesRead
If we opened our minds to enjoyment, we might find tranquil pleasures spread about us on every side. We might live with the angels that visit us on every sunbeam, and sit with the fairies who wait on every flower.
Samuel SmilesRead
Similar quotes
The unstable estimates of men crowd to him whose mind is filled with a truth, as the heaped waves of the Atlantic follow the moon.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic.
Edward De BonoRead
Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge. A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges.
Carlos CastanedaRead
Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even.
HoraceRead
How could I have been so stupid to ignore everything I’d had in my life? The color red alone was worth kingdoms.
Alice HoffmanRead
There is indeed a certain sense of gratification when we do a good deed that gives us inward satisfaction, and a generous pride that accompanies a good conscience…These testimonies of a good conscience are pleasant; and such a natural pleasure is very beneficial to us; it is the only payment that can never fail. “On Repentance
Michel De MontaigneRead