Character Quotes

Happiness is not the end of life, character is.

Observe a man’s actions; scrutinize his motives; take note of the things that give him pleasure. How, then, can he hide from you what he really is?

A man may be outwardly successful all his life long, and die hollow and worthless as a puffball; and he may be externally defeated all his life long, and die in the royalty of a kingdom established within him. A man’s true estate of power and riches, is to be in himself; not in his […]

Industry, thrift and self-control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character.

The formation of character in young people is educationally a different task from, and a prior task to, the discussion of the great, difficult, ethical controversies of the day. First things first. And planting the ideas of virtue, of good traits in the young, comes first. In the moral life, as in life itself, we […]

Character is the only secure foundation of the state.

It is our character that supports the promise of our future – far more than particular government programs or policies.

What we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do. We all know it. There are people we trust absolutely because we know their character. Whether they’re eloquent or not, whether they have the human relations techniques or not, we trust them, and we work successfully with them.

Public officers, whose character and conduct remain open to debate and free discussion in the press, find their remedies for false accusations in… libel laws… and not in proceedings to restrain the publication of newspapers.

Age should not have its face lifted, but it should rather teach the world to admire wrinkles as the etchings of experience and the firm line of character.