Character Building Quotations
You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one. Be your character what it will, it will be known, and nobody will take it upon your word.
Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us. Nothing of character is really permanent but virtue and personal worth. The essential thing is not knowledge, but character. It requires less character to discover the faults of others, than to tolerate them. A good name will shine forever. A fair reputation is a plant, delicate in its nature, and by no means rapid in its growth. It will not shoot up in a night like the gourd of the prophet; but, like that gourd, it may perish in a night. Sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny. Talents are best nurtured in solitude. Character is best formed in the stormy billows of the world. Our character is but the stamp on our souls of the free choices of good and evil we have made through life.
Character is a diamond that scratches every other stone. In the stormy current of life characters are weights or floats which at one time make us glide along the bottom, and at another maintain us on the surface. Character is what you think in the dark. Nature magically suits a man to his fortunes, by making them the fruit of his character. Talents are best nurtured in solitude, but character is best formed in the stormy billows of the world.
A man's character is like his shadow, which sometimes follows and sometimes precedes him, and which is occasionally longer, occasionally shorter, than he is. Men best show their character in trifles, where they are not on their guard. It is in the simplest habits, that we often see the boundless egotism which pays no regard to the feelings of others and denies nothing to itself. Every man, as to character, is the creature of the age in which he lives. Very few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of their times. It is of little traits that the greatest human character is composed. Character and personal force are the only investments that are worth anything. Character is, for the most part, We are builders of our own characters. We have different positions, spheres, capacities, privileges, different work to do in the world, different temporal fabrics to raise; but we are all alike in this, -- all are architects of fate. Character is, in the long run, the decisive factor in the life of individuals and of nations alike. Actions, looks, words and steps form the alphabet by which you may spell character. Every human being is intended to have a character of his own; to be what no others are, and to do what no other can do. Let us not say, Every man is the architect of his own fortune; but let us say, Every man is the architect of his own character. Fate is character. Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think. Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. |
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