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Quotes about character

276 quotes from 175 people

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He was beaten (he knew that); but he was not broken.
Jack London1876–1916The Call of the Wild (1903), Chapter IIn context
- Courage
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow1807–1882Kavanagh: A Tale (1849), Chapter 1.
Sorrow and silence are strong, and patient endurance is godlike.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow1807–1882Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie (1847), Part II, section 1.
Everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives … and you can either help somebody, you can be compassionate toward people, you can treat some people with dignity — or not.
George Lucasborn 1944Interview with Bill Moyers for The Mythology of Star Wars (1999)
- Decisions
Two people may be at the same spot in manners and behaviour, and yet one may be getting better, and the other worse, which is the greatest of differences that could possibly exist between them.
George MacDonald1824–1905The Princess and Curdie (1883)
The first opinion which one forms of a prince, and of his understanding, is by observing the men he has around him
Niccolò Machiavelli1469–1527The Prince (1532), Chapter XXIIIn context
- Leadership
A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
Nelson Mandela1918–2013Long Walk to Freedom (1995)
Now will I show myself to have more of the serpent than the dove; that is, more knave than fool.
Christopher Marlowe1564–1593The Jew of Malta (c. 1589)
Every human being has within him an ideal man, just as every piece of marble contains in a rough state a statue as beautiful as the one that Praxiteles the Greek made of the god Apollo.
José Martí1853–1895Martí: Thoughts/Pensamientos (1994)
- Inspiration
People ask you for criticism, but they only want praise.
W. Somerset Maugham1874–1965Of Human Bondage (1915), Ch. 50In context
Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one’s mind.
W. Somerset Maugham1874–1965Of Human Bondage (1915), Chapter XXXIXIn context
- Decisions
I will not take the low road to the highest office in this land. I want the presidency in the best way, not the worst way.
John McCain1936–2018Remarks following the South Carolina Primary (19 February 2000).
- Presidency
I am cocky in prediction, I am confident in preparation but I am always humble in victory or defeat.
Conor McGregorborn 1988UFC 178 post-event press conference (September 2014), Ultimate Fighting Championship, Zuffa, LLC
- Pride
Delight is to him⁠—a far, far upward, and inward delight⁠—who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.
Herman Melville1819–1891Moby-Dick (1851), Chapter IXIn context
- Courage
Oh, man! admire and model thyself after the whale! Do thou, too, remain warm among ice. Do thou, too, live in this world without being of it. Be cool at the equator; keep thy blood fluid at the Pole. Like the great dome of St. Peter’s, and like the great whale, retain, O man! in all seasons a temperature of thine own.
Herman Melville1819–1891Moby-Dick (1851), Chapter LXVIIIIn context
- Advice