Jonathan Swift on character

We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.

Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.

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.

John Wooden1910–2010

Noble character is best appreciated in those ages in which it can most readily develop.

Tacitus55–120

Character is higher than intellect… A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think.

Ralph Waldo Emerson1803–1882The American Scholar (1837), par. 27