Quotes on Character

Indeed envy is a defect; worse than any other.

It is the character of a brave and resolute man not to be ruffled by adversity and not to desert his post.

I demand of you, and of the whole world, that you show me a generic character... by which to distinguish between Man and Ape. I myself most assuredly know of none.

It is possible that the scrupulously honest man may not grow rich so fast as the unscrupulous and dishonest one; but the success will be of a truer kind, earned without fraud or injustice. And even though a man should for a time be unsuccessful, still he must be honest: better lose all and save character. For character is itself a fortune. . . .

You know lots of criticism is written by characters who are very academic and think it is a sign you are worthless if you make jokes or kid or even clown. I wouldn't kid Our Lord if he was on the cross. But I would attempt a joke with him if I ran into him chasing the money changers out of the temple.

Telling the truth ... is not solely a matter of moral character; it is also a matter of correct appreciation of real situations and of serious reflection upon them.

The universe seems bankrupt as soon as we begin to discuss the characters of individuals.

Our character is not so much the product of race and heredity as of those circumstances by which nature forms our habits, by which we are nurtured and live.

The man who commands efficiently must have obeyed others in the past, and the man who obeys dutifully is worthy of someday being a commander.

Study carefully, the character of the one you recommend, lest their misconduct bring you shame.

A man's own manner and character is what most becomes him.

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.

It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment.

Sincerity is impossible, unless it pervade the whole being, and the pretence of it saps the very foundation of character.

If it were considered desirable to destroy a human being, the only thing necessary would be to give his work a character of uselessness

Unconsciously we seek the principles and opinions which are suited to our temperament, so that at last it seems as if these principles and opinions had formed our character and given it support and stability.

If a man could say nothing against a character but what he can prove, history could not be written.

It is in times of difficulty that great nations like great men display the whole energy of their character and become an object of admiration to posterity.

So much are our minds influenced by the accidents of our bodies, that every man is more the man of the day than a regular and consequential character.

Anyone is to be pitied who has just sense enough to perceive his deficiencies.

The normal is what you find but rarely. The normal is an ideal. It is a picture that one fabricates of the average characteristics of men, and to find them all in a single man is hardly to be expected.