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Quotes about character

276 quotes from 175 people

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Not by birth does one become an outcaste, not by birth does one become a brahman. By one’s action one becomes an outcaste, by one’s action one becomes a brahman.
Gautama Buddha501–501 BCSutta Nipata (Suttas falling down), § 136
All men that are ruined, are ruined on the side of their natural propensities.
Edmund Burke1729–1797Letters On a Regicide Peace (1796), No. 1, volume v, p. 286
The rank is but the guinea’s stamp,
The man’s the gowd for a’ that.
Robert Burns1759–1796A Man’s a Man for A’ That, st. 1 (1795)In context
God knows, I’m no the thing I should be,
Nor am I even the thing I could be.
Robert Burns1759–1796Posthumous Pieces (1799)
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
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,
A man’s a man for a’ that.
Robert Burns1759–1796A Man’s a Man for A’ That (1795)In context
- Money
The mark of a basic shit is that he has to be right.
William S. Burroughs1914–1997The Place Of Dead Roads‎ (1983), p. 155
- Clever Jabs
I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud
Of thoughts which were not their thoughts
Lord Byron1788–1824Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–1818), Canto the ThirdIn context
Clever men are good, but they are not the best.
Thomas Carlyle1795–1881Critical and Miscellaneous Essays (1827–1855), Goethe.
- Intelligence
No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.
Thomas Carlyle1795–1881The Hero as Divinity
The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.
Thomas Carlyle1795–1881The Hero as Prophet
In every man’s writings, the character of the writer must lie recorded.
Thomas Carlyle1795–1881Goethe (1828).
- Writing
We are firm believers in the maxim that for all right judgment of any man or thing it is useful, nay, essential, to see his good qualities before pronouncing on his bad.
Thomas Carlyle1795–1881Critical and Miscellaneous Essays (1827–1855), Goethe.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain⁠—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.
Dale Carnegie1888–1955How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936), Part 1: Fundamental Techniques in Handling People, p. 36.
- Forgiveness
A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others.
Jimmy Carter1924–2024Carter, J. (1977). A government as good as its people. New York: Simon and Schuster.
- Power