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Quotes about character

276 quotes from 175 people

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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
To speak frankly, I am not in favour of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other’s character before marriage, which I think is never advisable.
Oscar Wilde1854–1900The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), Third Act, spoken by Lady BracknellIn context
- Marriage
Philosopher, metaphysician,
Rhymer, brawler, and musician,
Famed for his lunar expedition,
And the unnumbered duels he fought,⁠—
And lover also,⁠—by interposition!⁠—
Here lies Hercule Savinien
De Cyrano de Bergerac,
Who was everything, yet was naught.
Edmond Rostand1868–1918Cyrano de Bergerac (1897), Act V: Cyrano’s Gazette, Scene VI, spoken by CyranoIn context
- Life & Death
Whatsoever any man either doth or saith, thou must be good; not for any man’s sake, but for thine own nature’s sake; as if either gold, or the emerald, or purple, should ever be saying to themselves, Whatsoever any man either doth or saith, I must still be an emerald, and I must keep my colour.
Marcus Aurelius121–180Meditations (c. 170–180), The Seventh BookIn context
- Virtue
I have often wondered how it should come to pass, that every man loving himself best, should more regard other men’s opinions concerning himself than his own.
Marcus Aurelius121–180Meditations (c. 170–180), The Twelfth BookIn context
- Thinking
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
Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.
Ralph Waldo Emerson1803–1882Self-Reliance (1841)In context
- Inspiration
Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world.
Ralph Waldo Emerson1803–1882Self-Reliance (1841)In context
- Freedom
It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
Ralph Waldo Emerson1803–1882Self-Reliance (1841)In context
- Wisdom
O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
Robert Burns1759–1796To a Louse (1786)In context
- Wisdom
I held it truth, with him who sings
To one clear harp in divers tones,
That men may rise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson1809–1892In Memoriam A.H.H. (1849), Canto IIn context
- Change
The soul selects her own society,
Then shuts the door;
On her divine majority
Obtrude no more.
Emily Dickinson1830–1886The Soul selects her own Society (1890)In context
- Friendship
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
William Ernest Henley1849–1903Invictus (1875)In context
- Motivation & Goals