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.
Darkness invades the dreams of the glassblower. Of all the unpleasantries his dreams grab in out of the night air, an extinguished light is the worst. Light in his dreams, was always hope: the basic, moral hope. As the contacts break helically away, hope turns to darkness, and the glassblower wakes sharply tonight crying, "Who? Who?"
I do not regard a broker as a member of the human race.
This is the first time in my 32 years in public broadcasting that PBS has ordered up programs for ideological instead of journalistic reasons.
There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, and nothing worth killing for.
The beneficial effect of state intervention, especially in the form of legislation, is direct, immediate, and so to speak, visible, while its evil effects are gradual and indirect and lay out of sight ... Hence the majority of mankind must almost of necessity look with undue favor upon governmental intervention.
Many of her thoughts were perfect syllogisms; unluckily they always remained thoughts. Only a few were irrational assumptions; but, unfortunately, they were the ones which most frequently grew into deeds
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