Quotes about character
276 quotes from 175 people
George Michael1963–2016Interview with Oprah Winfrey (2004), reported in Luke Henriques Gomes, “George Michael: from tortured star to pop icon”, The New Daily (December 26, 2016).My “act” has ended by becoming an integral part of my nature, I told myself. It’s no longer an act.
Yukio Mishima1925–1970Confessions of a Mask (1949), p. 153.Those whose own conduct’s most ridiculous,
Are always quickest to speak ill of others;- MMuhammad571–632Muwatta of Imam Malik, Speech, hadith 21
Ultimately what we really are matters more than what other people think of us.
Jawaharlal Nehru1889–1964Parliamentary Debates [Parliament of India] Pt.2 V.12-13 (1951)It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say he is one who never inflicts pain.
John Henry Newman1801–1890The Idea of a University (1873), Discourse VIII, pt. 10.But thus do I counsel you, my friends: distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful!
Friedrich Nietzsche1844–1900Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883), Part II, Chapter 29, tr. Thomas CommonIn contextI will not adjust myself to the world. I am adjusted to myself.
Anaïs Nin1903–1977Diary entry, 25 March 1933
Michelle Obamaborn 1964Speech at the Democratic National Convention, Philadelphia (25 July 2016)I look so totally artificial, but I’ve always been the simplest person in the world.
Dolly Parton1946–2026Interview by Jancee Dunn, “Dolly Parton: At 57, the Country Legend Still Brims With Vitality”, Rolling Stone (30 October 2003)- Dolly Parton1946–2026Interview by Jancee Dunn, “Dolly Parton: At 57, the Country Legend Still Brims With Vitality”, Rolling Stone (30 October 2003)
Fernando Pessoa1888–1935Álvaro de Campos (heteronym), “Começo a conhecer-me. Não existo.”, in Fernando Pessoa & Co: Selected Poems, trans. Richard Zenith (Grove Press, 1998)
