Quotes about character
276 quotes from 175 people
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.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow1807–1882Kavanagh: A Tale (1849), Chapter 1.No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.
Thomas Carlyle1795–1881The Hero as DivinityIf ever I become entirely respectable I shall be quite sure that I have outlived myself.
Eugene V. Debs1855–1926The Canton, Ohio Speech, Anti-War Speech (1918)Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.
Oscar Wilde1854–1900The Soul of Man Under Socialism (1891)
Elie Wiesel1928–2016Interview in O: The Oprah Magazine (November 2000)
Jonathan Swift1667–1745Thoughts on Various Subjects from Miscellanies (1711-1726)
Oliver Cromwell1599–1658Letter to Sir William Spring (September 1643)
William Makepeace Thackeray1811–1863The Book of Snobs (1848), Ch. 2: “The Snob Royal”
Henry David Thoreau1817–1862A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849), Wednesday- Oscar Wilde1854–1900“The Relation of Dress to Art”, The Pall Mall Gazette (February 28, 1885)
George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax1633–1695Miscellaneous Thoughts and Reflections
Samuel Johnson1709–1784Life of Johnson (Boswell) (1777)I judge people by what they might be,—not are, nor will be.
Robert Browning1812–1889A Soul’s Tragedy (1846), Act ii.
