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Quotes about character

276 quotes from 175 people

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What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.
John Ruskin1819–1900The Crown of Wild Olive (1866)
- Wisdom
Perhaps the only true dignity of man is his capacity to despise himself.
George Santayana1863–1952Introduction to The Ethics of Spinoza (1910)
Men take more pains to hide than to mend themselves.
George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax1633–1695Miscellaneous Thoughts and Reflections
No Man is so much a Fool as not to have Wit enough sometimes to be a Knave; nor any so cunning a Knave, as not to have the Weakness sometimes to play the Fool.
George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax1633–1695Moral Thoughts and Reflections
- Intelligence
Rascals are always sociable — more’s the pity! and the chief sign that a man has any nobility in his character is the little pleasure he takes in others’ company.
Arthur Schopenhauer1788–1860Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life, Vol. 1, Ch. 5, § 9
The only way out of today’s misery is for people to become worthy of each other’s trust.
Albert Schweitzer1875–1965Reverence for Life (1969)
He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again.
William Shakespeare1564–1616Hamlet (c. 1600), Act I, Scene II, spoken by HamletIn context
We know what we are, but know not what we may be.
William Shakespeare1564–1616Hamlet (c. 1600), Act IV, Scene V, spoken by OpheliaIn context
- Change
Let me have men about me that are fat,
Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep a-nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.
William Shakespeare1564–1616Julius Caesar (1599), Act I, Scene II, spoken by CaesarIn context
- Thinking
But I am constant as the northern star,
Of whose true-fix’d and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.
William Shakespeare1564–1616Julius Caesar (1599), Act III, Scene I, spoken by CaesarIn context
His life was gentle, and the elements
So mix’d in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, “This was a man!”
William Shakespeare1564–1616Julius Caesar (1599), Act V, Scene V, spoken by AntonyIn context
- Virtue
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude.
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
William Shakespeare1564–1616As You Like It (c. 1599), Act II, Scene VII, spoken by AmiensIn context
- Nature
There’s no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face:
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust.
William Shakespeare1564–1616Macbeth (c. 1606), Act I, Scene IV, spoken by DuncanIn context
For ’tis the mind that makes the body rich;
And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds,
So honour peereth in the meanest habit.
What, is the jay more precious than the lark
Because his feathers are more beautiful?
William Shakespeare1564–1616The Taming of the Shrew (c. 1591), Act IV, Scene III, spoken by PetruchioIn context
- Beauty
Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods?
Draw near them then in being merciful.
Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.
William Shakespeare1564–1616Titus Andronicus (c. 1592), Act I, Scene I, spoken by TamoraIn context
- Forgiveness