What is character? It is that quality of man which is going to make a man, in an hour of strain, do the just and, if possible, the generous thing.
Interpretation
Character is defined by our actions during challenging times, reflecting moral integrity and generosity.
In this quote, Douglas Southall Freeman emphasizes that true character is revealed when a person faces significant pressure or hardship. It is during these moments of strain that an individual's moral compass is tested, and the response—whether it is to act justly or generously—defines their essence and integrity as a human being.
In practice
This quote can be used during a leadership seminar to discuss the importance of character in decision-making under pressure.
Character is the essence of all that a man has seen in life and regards as high and exalted. Character is like truth: the substance of the things that a man has forgotten but the substance of the things that are worth remembering in life.
We can certainly go further than cats, but why should it be that our brains are somehow so suited to the universe that our brains will be able to understand the deepest workings?
The gospel cannot be truly preached without offense and tumult.
To talk of immaterial existences is to talk of nothings. To say that the human soul, angels, god, are immaterial, is to say they are nothings, or that there is no god, no angels, no soul. I cannot reason otherwise: but I believe I am supported in my creed of materialism by Locke, Tracy, and Stewart. At what age of the Christian church this heresy of immaterialism, this masked atheism, crept in, I do not know. But heresy it certainly is.
The worst thing you want is a willy-nilly judge who is swayed by the political whims of the era or the time. What you want is a judge who is thinking about what he or she is doing and is thinking about it in a principled way.
life is a loaded gun that looks right at you with a yellow eye.
If you don't know how to die, don't worry; Nature will tell you what to do on the spot, fully and adequately. She will do this job perfectly for you; don't bother your head about it.
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