Motivational Quotes

Character

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.

- Francis, Clarence

Best Quotes about Character

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Abraham Lincoln

The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.

Shakespeare, William

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.

Beecher, Henry Ward

Character is another thing that is formed in youth and reformed in marriage.

The hell to be endured hereafter, of which theology tells, is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioned our characters in the wrong way.

James, William

The highest qualities of character must be earned.

Abbott, Lyman

The depth and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves. People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life, for only then do they have to fall back on their reserves.

Trotsky, Leon

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

Euripides

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

Buddha

10.

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

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

11.

One can acquire everything in solitude - except character.

Marie Henri Beyle

12.

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

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

13.

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

Hall, Manly

14.

Weakness of character is the only defect which cannot be amended.

La Rochefoucauld, Francois De

15.

I take it as a man's duty to restrain himself.

Lois McMaster Bujold

16.

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.

Covey, Stephen R.

17.

We know but a few men, a great many coats and breeches.

Thoreau, Henry David

18.

I could never think well of a man's intellectual or moral character, if he was habitually unfaithful to his appointments.

Nathaniel Emmons

19.

He that has light within his own clear breast may sit in the center, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts benighted walks under the mid-day sun;

Milton, John

20.

If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create a character. If you create a character, you create a destiny.

Maurois, Andre

21.

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

Chesterfield, Lord

22.

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.

Babson, Roger

23.

Some people are born hammers, others anvils.

Proverb

24.

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

25.

A man with a so-called character is often a simple piece of mechanism; he has often only one point of view for the extremely complicated relationships of life.

Strindberg, J. August

26.

Testimony is like an arrow shot from a long bow and the force of it depends on the strength of the arm from which it was shot. Argument is like a bullet fired from a gun and has equal force even when issued from a child.

27.

Few people can distinguish the genuinely good from the reverse.

Juvenal, (Decimus Junius Juvenalis)

28.

It is part of the American character to consider nothing as desperate -- to surmount every difficulty by resolution and contrivance.

Jefferson, Thomas

29.

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

Collins, Marva

30.

Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.

Sivananda, Sri Swami

31.

The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Macaulay, Thomas B.

32.

Not to be cheered by praise, not to be grieved by blame, but to know thoroughly ones own virtues or powers are the characteristics of an excellent man.

Pandita, Saskya

33.

While an original is always hard to find, he is easy to recognize.

Mason, John L.

34.

Character is a victory, not a gift.

35.

To have character is to be big enough to take life on.

Richards, Mary Caroline

36.

We falsely attribute to men a determined character -- putting together all their yesterdays -- and averaging them -- we presume we know them. Pity the man who has character to support -- it is worse than a large family -- he is the silent poor indeed.

Thoreau, Henry David

37.

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

Chambers, Oswald

38.

If an ass goes traveling it will not come home a horse.

Proverb

39.

Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. It's something you weren't born with and must take responsibility for forming.

Rohn, Jim

40.

Character is the impulse reined down into steady continuance.

Parkhurst, Charles H.

41.

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

Baldwin, Faith

42.

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

Drummond, Henry

43.

You can't go around hoping that most people have sterling moral characters. The most you can hope for is that people will pretend that they do.

Lebowitz, Fran

44.

How difficult it is to save the bark of reputation from the rocks of ignorance.

Petrarch, Francesco

45.

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.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

46.

Everyone has three characters, that which they exhibit, that which they have, and that which they think they have.

Karr, Alphonse

47.

Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.

Michener, James A.

48.

Football doesn't build character. It eliminates weak ones.

Royal, Darrell

49.

Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.