Character Sayings and Quotes

There’s no replacement for good character and integrity. That’s why we admire and gravite towards others with those qualities. Below you’ll find a collection of wise and insightful quotes about character.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. Helen Keller
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. Abraham Lincoln
Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude, and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful. Jacqueline Bisset
The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good, and how he treats people who can't fight back. Abigail Van Buren
It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare. Mark Twain
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. Abraham Lincoln
Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. Kahlil Gibran
Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. Albert Einstein
When you find a man you wish to marry, Tessa, remember this: You will know what kind of man he is not by the things he says, but by the things he does. Cassandra Clare
You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one. Henry David Thoreau
Be your character what it will, it will be known, and nobody will take it upon your word. Lord Chesterfield
Reputation is for time; character is for eternity. J. B. Gough
Our character is but the stamp on our souls of the free choices of good and evil we have made through life. John C. Geikie
The true measure of an individual is how he treats a person who can do him absolutely no good. Ann Landers
Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open. Elmer G. Letterman
A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out. Thomas B. Macaulay
Reputation is what men and women think of us. Character is what God and the angels know of us. Thomas Paine
If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create a character. If you create a character, you create a destiny. Andre Maurois
A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's. Jean Paul
Character is destiny. Heraclitus
Character is the indelible mark that determines the only true value of all people and all their work. Orison Sweet Marden
Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught J.C. Watts
Character is much easier kept than recovered. Thomas Paine
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. Confucius
Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving. Dale Carnegie
Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike. Theodore Roosevelt
Character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which self respect springs. Joan Didion
I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects. Oscar Wilde
Character is the sum total of all our everyday choices. Margaret Jensen
It's easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. Frederick Douglass
People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character. Ralph Waldo Emerson
I have no regrets in my life. I think that everything happens to you for a reason. The hard times that you go through build character, making you a much stronger person. Rita Mero
It is in the character of very few men to honor without envy a friend who has prospered. Aeschylus
It is not what he had, or even what he does which expresses the worth of a man, but what he is. Henri Frederic Amiel
Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses or avoids. Aristotle
Talents are best nurtured in solitude. Character is best formed in the stormy billows of the world. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted Alfred Adler
Ability can take you the top, but it takes character to keep you there. Zig Ziglar
Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking. H. Jackson Brown
In the end you should always do the right thing even if it's hard. Nicholas Sparks
Forming characters! Whose? Our own or others? Both. And in that momentous fact lies the peril and responsibility of our existence. Elihu Burritt
Character is higher than intellect. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Character is simply habit long continued. Plutarch
A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. Mohandas K. Gandhi
Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do. Shaquille Oneal
You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. James Miles
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Martin Luther King
Character is determined more by the lack of certain experiences than by those one has had. Friedrich Nietzsche
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. John Wooden
Character is just another word for having a perfectly disciplined and educated will. A person can make his own character by blending these elements with an intense desire to achieve excellence. Everyone is different in what I will call magnitude, but the capacity to achieve character is still the same. Vince Lombardi
Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character. John Wooden
It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment. Marcus Tullius Cicero
Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness. Anne Frank
Character is power. Booker T. Washington
Character is made of duty and love and sympathy, and, above all, of living and working for others. Robert Green Ingersoll
Industry, thrift and self-control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character. Calvin Coolidge
This character is not interesting. I'm not gonna act like the original is the best written character, but you felt her pain, you understood her anger, and you cheered for her when things went right because she allowed you to see her most fragile moments. Doug Walker
Just because you are a character doesn't mean that you have character. Quentin Tarantino
Vice leads to difficulty, virtue to reward. Bad characters come to bad ends. Jane Austen
It is not true that drink alters a man's character. It may reveal it more fully. John Osborne
There's no place in business for a man of character. His sincerity could ruin the world! Frank Tashlin
The jails are full of fearless characters. Arthur Miller
Money destroys your character. Sibylle Durian
The actor Ryan Reynolds was such a Deadpool fan that he spent years and years to get a faithful version of the character brought to the big screen. And guess what? It seems what made people like him now still makes people like him now! Doug Walker
I have all these characters inside my head and they want to live. John August
A spy has no character; he merely assumes one. Ronald Millar
That money had you too too excited / Them cars had you way out your character Dwayne Carter
That jewelry got you way out your character / Them girls got you way out your character Dwayne Carter
Two characters in search of a country song / Just make believe, but so in love Merritt Stephin Raymond
Two characters been listening all night long / For voices from Nashville above Merritt Stephin Raymond
To me he's a fabulous character / (He's near and I glow) / A fabulous character / (And I love him so) Sarah Vaughan
Hate me all you want / Call me out for fun / I ain't compromising character, I bet that's what you want Nueve
Don't break character / You've got a lot of heart / Is this real or just a dream? / Rise up like the sun / Labor 'til the work is done Brandon FLowers
She said be gentle boy / You show a lack of character / There is no other way this girl is so all about me / I'm sorry I can't help the way Chad Everett Gilbert
Yes I know her when I see her anywhere / Her attitude and character always gone clear Miguel Orlando Collins
As for my character. I believe I behave responsibly. I'm not overly susceptible to girls. Floyd Dell
A credible reputation is often considered another name for good character. Joseph A. Bailey
Character becomes good or bad based upon whether people decide to fashion their decisions and choices around or around hate. Joseph A. Bailey
If someone's character and reputation are fit together like interlocking rings, the part that interlocks is called personality. Joseph A. Bailey
Your character is who you personally are. Joseph A. Bailey
Whatever we do to make us 'be better' (such as through peace and happiness) - and not just 'feel better' - represents a good character trait. Joseph A. Bailey
Good character was founded on a person's proper interactions with people in things such as harmony, fair play and doing what is in the best interest of all concerned. Joseph A. Bailey
Good character traits are called virtues, and bad ones are called vices. Christopher Panza
Most people would like to be admirable and not deplorable. Christopher Panza
Having a good character means that you're driven to behave in virtuous ways in situations that call for virtuous responses. Christopher Panza
A person of good character is unlikely to do something unethical, immoral or illegal. Susan K. Maciak
Good character is having the will power to avoid behavior that would embarrass or reflect negatively on you. Susan K. Maciak
A person's reputation most often comes from his or her character. Susan K. Maciak
Honesty, integrity and courage are all examples of good character. Susan K. Maciak
No magic is required to build a positive personality. Peter Goldie
Suppressing one's anger is a sign of good character. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
A responsible person always sets a good example for others. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
A responsible person always sets a good example for others. Bruce Glassman.
Setting a good example is mostly about having your actions reflect on you character-instead of just words. Bruce Glassman.
The key to success lies in having a strong personality. Peter Goldie
The personality trait is also a key determinant of good leadership. Peter Goldie