Character Quotes

  • "To measure the man, measure his heart."
  • "The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do."
  • "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."
  • "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
  • "It's good to shut up sometimes."
  • "Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."
  • "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character,give him power."
  • "You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one."
  • "A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents."
  • "Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable."
  • "I take it as a man's duty to restrain himself."
  • "It is in the character of very few men to honor without envy a friend who has prospered."
  • "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."
  • "You can tell the character of every man when you see how he receives praise."
  • "Put more trust in nobility of character than in an oath."
  • "Sow an act...reap a habit; Sow a habit...reap a character; Sow a character...reap a destiny."
  • "It is the characteristic excellence of the strong man that he can bring momentous issues to the fore and make a decision about them. The weak are always forced to decide between alternatives they have not chosen themselves."
  • "Of all the properties which belong to honorable men, not one is so highly prized as
    that of character."
  • "Good government generally begins in the family, and if the moral character of a people once degenerate, their political character must soon follow."
  • "Sports do not build character. They reveal it."
  • "History is the record of an encounter between character and circumstances."
  • "Wealth stays with us a little moment if at all: only our characters are steadfast, not our gold."
  • "Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny."
  • "Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."
  • "Talent develops in tranquillity, character in the full current of human life."
  • "It seems to me that perfection of means and confusion of goals seems to characterize our age."
  • "A signature always reveals a man's character - and sometimes even his name."
  • "It is part of the American character to consider nothing as desperate - to surmount every difficulty by resolution and contrivance."
  • "To bear failure with courage is the best proof of character that anyone can give."
  • "Don't worry so much about your self-esteem. Worry more about your character. Integrity is its own reward."
  • "Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy."
  • "It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them. To make a mistake is only an error in judgment, but to adhere to it when it is discovered shows infirmity of character."
  • "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
  • "Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there."
  • "Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person."
  • "Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking."
  • "The average dog is a nicer person than the average person."