Character Quotes

Every man has three characters; that which he shows, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has.

Alphonse Karr (1808-1890) French journalist, novelist.

Men will often say that they have “found themselves” when they have really been worn down into a groove by the brutal and compulsive force of circumstance.

Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938) American author.

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

Lord Macaulay (1800-1859) English historian.

Character the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self respect springs.

Joan Didion (b.1934) American writer.

We must have a weak spot or two in a character before we can love it much.

Dr Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

In me the tiger sniffs the rose.

The hardest thing is writing a recommendation for someone we know.

People always say that they are not themselves when tempted by anger into betraying what they really are.

You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by the way he eats jelly beans.

Ronald Reagan (b.1911) American president.

Character is perfectly educated will.

Novalis.

The noblest contribution which any man can make for the benefit of posterity, is that of a good character. The richest bequest which any man can leave to the youth of his native land, is that of a shining, spotless example.

R.C. Winthrop.

Let us not say, Every man is the architect of his own fortune; but let us say, Every man is the architect of his own character.

G.D. Boardman.

Give us a character on which we can thoroughly depend, which we know to be based on principle and on the fear of God, and it is wonderful how many brilliant and popular and splendid qualities we can safely and gladly dispense with.

A.P. Stanley.

Talents are best nurtured in solitude; character is best formed in the stormy billows of the world.

Goethe.

There is not a man or woman, how ever poor they may be, but have it in their power, by the grace of God, to leave behind them the grandest thing on earth, character; and their children might rise up after them and thank God that their mother was a pious woman, or their father a pious man.

N.Macleod.

Only what we have wrought into our character during life can we take away with us.

Humboldt.

It is not what a man gets, but what a man is, that he should think of. He should think first of his character, and then of his condition; for if he have the former, he need have no fears about the latter. Character will draw condition after it.

Circumstances obey principles.

H.W. Beecher.

Men best show their character in trifles, where they are not on their guard. It is in insignificant mattes, and in the simplest habits, that we often see the boundless egotism which pays no regard to the feelings of others, and denies nothing to itself.

Schopenhauer.

He who acts wickedly in private life, can never be expected to show himself noble in public conduct. He that is base at home, will not acquit himself with honor abroad; for it is not the man, but only the place that is changed.

Character is a diamond that scratches every other stone.

Bartol.

Character and personal force are the only investments that are worth anything.

Whitman.

Actions, looks, words, steps, form the alphabet by which you may spell characters; some are mere letters, some contain entire words, lines, pages, which at once decipher the life if a man. One such genuine uninterrupted page may be your key to all the rest; but first be certain that he wrote it all alone, and without thinking of publisher or reader.

Lavater.

A man’s character is the reality of himself. His reputation is the opinion others have formed of him. Character is in him; reputation is from other people that is the substance, this is the shadow.

H.W. Beecher.