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Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
Character35 quotes
What does not destroy me, makes me stronger. — Friedrich Nietzsche · 1889Between us and excellence, the gods have placed the sweat of our brows. — Hesiod · 700 BCMan naturally desires, not only to be loved, but to be lovely; or to be that thing which is the natural and proper object of love. — Adam Smith · 1759I often feel, and ever more deeply I realize, that Fate and character are the same conception. — Novalis · 1802The character which results from wealth is that of a prosperous fool. — Aristotle · 322 BCHe that lieth down with Dogs, shall rise up with Fleas. — Benjamin Franklin · 1733All 35 quotes →Adversity3 quotes
What does not destroy me, makes me stronger. — Friedrich Nietzsche · 1889Every man at some point in his life is gonna lose a battle. He's gonna fight and he's gonna lose. But what makes him a man is that in the midst of that battle he does not lose himself. — Eric Taylor · 2006If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. — Proverbs 24:10 · 686 BCTests of character3 quotes
I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat. — John Milton · 1644We need greater virtues to sustain good fortune than bad. — Francois de La Rochefoucauld · 1678So it is more useful to watch a man in times of peril, and in adversity to discern what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn from the depths of his heart, and the mask is torn off, reality remains. — Lucretius · 55 BCVirtue3 quotes
Between us and excellence, the gods have placed the sweat of our brows. — Hesiod · 700 BCI cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat. — John Milton · 1644For he does not wish to appear the bravest, but to be the bravest. — Aeschylus · 467 BCBeing a man2 quotes
Every man at some point in his life is gonna lose a battle. He's gonna fight and he's gonna lose. But what makes him a man is that in the midst of that battle he does not lose himself. — Eric Taylor · 2006His life was gentle and the elements
So mixed in him that nature might stand up
And say to all the world “This was a man.” — William Shakespeare · 1599Honesty2 quotes
An honest man's the noblest work of God. — Alexander Pope · 1733Men should be what they seem. — William Shakespeare · 1604Personal growth2 quotes
Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value. — Albert Einstein · 1955Does character develop over time? In novels, of course it does: otherwise there wouldn't be much of a story. But in life? I sometimes wonder. Our attitudes and opinions change, we develop new habits and eccentricities; but that's something different, more like decoration. Perhaps character resembles intelligence, except that character peaks a little later: between twenty and thirty, say. And after that, we're just stuck with what we've got. We're on our own. If so, that would explain a lot of lives, wouldn't it? And also—if this isn't too grand a word—our tragedy. — Julian Barnes · 2011The human condition2 quotes
Between us and excellence, the gods have placed the sweat of our brows. — Hesiod · 700 BCDoes character develop over time? In novels, of course it does: otherwise there wouldn't be much of a story. But in life? I sometimes wonder. Our attitudes and opinions change, we develop new habits and eccentricities; but that's something different, more like decoration. Perhaps character resembles intelligence, except that character peaks a little later: between twenty and thirty, say. And after that, we're just stuck with what we've got. We're on our own. If so, that would explain a lot of lives, wouldn't it? And also—if this isn't too grand a word—our tragedy. — Julian Barnes · 2011Appearance vs. reality1 quote
For he does not wish to appear the bravest, but to be the bravest. — Aeschylus · 467 BCCompliments1 quote
You can tell the character of every man when you see how he receives praise. — Seneca · 65Corrosive effects of wealth1 quote
The character which results from wealth is that of a prosperous fool. — Aristotle · 322 BCCourage1 quote
They tell me you're a man with true grit. — Mattie Ross · 2010Decisions and choices1 quote
It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. — J.K. Rowling · 1998Depravity1 quote
No one ever suddenly became depraved. — Juvenal · 127Downsides of success1 quote
Success has ruin’d many a Man. — Benjamin Franklin · 1752Downsides of wealth1 quote
The character which results from wealth is that of a prosperous fool. — Aristotle · 322 BCExcellence1 quote
Between us and excellence, the gods have placed the sweat of our brows. — Hesiod · 700 BCFate1 quote
I often feel, and ever more deeply I realize, that Fate and character are the same conception. — Novalis · 1802Fools1 quote
The character which results from wealth is that of a prosperous fool. — Aristotle · 322 BCFormation of character1 quote
Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds, and until we know what has been or will be the peculiar combination of outward with inward facts, which constitutes a man's critical actions, it will be better not to think ourselves wise about his character. — George Eliot · 1859Grit1 quote
They tell me you're a man with true grit. — Mattie Ross · 2010Hard work1 quote
Between us and excellence, the gods have placed the sweat of our brows. — Hesiod · 700 BCHuman needs1 quote
Man naturally desires, not only to be loved, but to be lovely; or to be that thing which is the natural and proper object of love. — Adam Smith · 1759Incentives1 quote
No one can be good for long when goodness is not in demand. — Bertolt Brecht · 1943Influences1 quote
He that lieth down with Dogs, shall rise up with Fleas. — Benjamin Franklin · 1733Inner strength1 quote
For he that is fallen low did never firmly stand. — Boethius · 523Moral theory1 quote
No one ever suddenly became depraved. — Juvenal · 127Morality1 quote
No one ever suddenly became depraved. — Juvenal · 127Negative influences1 quote
He that lieth down with Dogs, shall rise up with Fleas. — Benjamin Franklin · 1733Overcoming adversity1 quote
What does not destroy me, makes me stronger. — Friedrich Nietzsche · 1889