Character quotes

Character

14.8K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.

14.8K quotes

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Browse quotes that often appear alongside character — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.

Thinking 95.1K quotes Writing 30.7K quotes Men 68.6K quotes People 100.4K quotes Play 12.5K quotes Real 21.1K quotes

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Character quotes (page 156 of 739)

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Joe Frank Radio Personality, Writer
Character

"When I went to the University of Iowa in order to be a writer, I thought, This is the worst way to learn how to write. To sit in a room with a bunch of would-be writers, who want to write the Great American Novel, every one of them, and you read their stories and they read yours, and you're not living a life. I don't like that. I like learning on the job. The character of my work has definitely evolved from the character of my life."

Writing Character Jobs
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poet, Playwright, Novelist
Character

"To live in a great idea means to treat the impossible as though it were possible. It is just the same with a strong character; and when an idea and a character meet, things arise which fill the world with wonder for thousands of years."

Mean Character Strong
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poet, Playwright, Novelist
Character

"One should not wish anyone disagreeable conditions of life; but for him who is involved in them by chance, they are touchstones of characters and of the most decisive value to man."

Men Character Happiness
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poet, Playwright, Novelist
Character

"In society every man is taken for what he gives himself out to be; but he must give himself out to be something. Better to be slightly disagreeable than altogether insignificant."

Men Character Taken
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poet, Playwright, Novelist
Character

"Talent is nurtured in solitude; character is formed in the stormy billows of the world. [Ger., Es bildet ein talent sich in der Stille, Sich ein Charakter in dem Strom der Welt.]"

World Character Solitude
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poet, Playwright, Novelist
Character

"As for solitude, I cannot understand how certain people seek to lay claim to intellectual stature, nobility of soul and strength of character, yet have not the slightest feeling for seclusion; for solitude, I maintain, when joined with a quiet contemplation of nature, a serene and conscious faith in creation and the Creator, and a few vexations from outside is the only school for a mind of lofty endowment."

People Character School
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poet, Playwright, Novelist
Character

"Without my attempts in natural science, I should never have learned to know mankind such as it is. In nothing else can we so closely approach pure contemplation and thought, so closely observe the errors of the senses and of the understanding, the weak and strong points of character."

Character Strong Errors
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poet, Playwright, Novelist
Character

"There is nothing by which men display their character so much as in what they consider ridiculous... Fools and sensible men are equally innocuous. It is in the half fools and the half wise that the great danger lies."

Character Lying Wise
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poet, Playwright, Novelist
Character

"It is commonly the personal character of a writer which gives him his public significance. It is not imparted by his genius. Napoleon said of Corneille, "Were he living I would make him a king;" but he did not read him. He read Racine, yet he said nothing of the kind of Racine."

Giving Character Kings
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John Adams Founding Father, Politician
Character

"The arts and sciences, in general, during the three or four last centuries, have had a regular course of progressive improvement. The inventions in mechanic arts, the discoveries in natural philosophy, navigation and commerce, and the advancement of civilization and humanity, have occasioned changes in the condition of the world and the human character which would have astonished the most refined nations of antiquity. A continuation of similar exertions is everyday rendering Europe more and more like one community, or single family."

Art Character Philosophy
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Character

"Anyone who loved Tuesdays with Morrie should delight in reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Mitch Albom has populated his larger-than-life tale with memorable characters and filled it with the abundant warmth and wisdom that we've come to expect from this gifted storyteller."

Character Reading Memorable
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John F. Kennedy Politician
Character

"I do not say that all men are equal in their ability, character and motivation. I do say that every American should be given a fair chance to develop all the talents they may have."

Men Character Motivational
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John Green Author, YouTuber
Character

"You had been a paper boy to me all these years - two dimensions as a character on the page and two different, but still flat, dimensions as a person. But that night you turned out to be real."

Real Character Boys
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