Character quotes
14.8K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
"Bear in mind that brains and learning, like muscle and physical skill, are articles of commerce. They are bought and sold. You can hire them by the year or by the hour. The only thing in the world not for sale is character."
"Your true character Is most accurately measured by how you treat those who can do 'Nothing' for you"
"My success symbolizes loyalty, great friends, Dedication, hard work, routine builds character. In a world full of snakes, rats and scavengers"
"All cartoon characters and fables must be exaggeration, caricatures. It is the very nature of fantasy and fable."
"I have conquered an empire but I have not been able to conquer myself"
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"Learning to stand in somebody else's shoes, to see through their eyes, that's how peace begins. And it's up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world."
"Too often character assassination has replaced debate in principle here in Washington. Destroy someone's reputation, and you don't have to talk about what he stands for."
"Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough."
"To have a right estimate of a man's character, we must see him in misfortune."
"Character, courage, industry and perseverance are the four pillars on which the whole edifice of human life can be built and failure is a word unknown to me."
"The prosperity of a country depends, not on the abundance of its revenues, nor on the strength of its fortifications, nor on the beauty of its public buildings; but it consists in the number of its cultivated citizens, in its men of education, enlightenment and character."
"The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned."
"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - and most fools do. But it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving."
"Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness."
"Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life, the idea came to him of what he called "the love of your fate." Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, "This is what I need." It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment-not discouragement-you will find the strength is there. Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow."
"Gender is not something that one is, it is something one does, an act... a "doing" rather than a "being". There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the very "expressions" that are said to be its results. If the immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps this construct called 'sex' is as culturally constructed as gender; indeed, perhaps it was always already gender, with the consequence that the distinction between sex and gender turns out to be no distinction at all."
"We must support our rights or lose our character, and with it, perhaps, our liberties."
"You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves."
"The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery, not over nature but of ourselves."
"When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost."
"Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much."
"Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness."
"Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become habits. Watch your habits for they become your character. And watch your character for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become. My father always said that... and I think I am fine."
"If we had any nerve at all, if we had any real balls as a society, or whatever you need, whatever quality you need, real character, we would make an effort to really address the wrongs in this society, righteously."
"To understand is hard. Once one understands, action is easy."
