11 Quotes on Character

Read these reflections on moral fiber from some famous voices.

"If you don’t have enemies, you don’t have character."
-- Paul Newman

"Character—the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life—is the source from which self-respect springs."
-- Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem

"Calamity is the test of integrity"
-- Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady

"The best index to a person’s character is (a) how he treats people who can’t do him any good and (b) how he treats people who can’t fight back."
-- Abigail Van Buren, Dear Abby

"People are never so trivial as when they take themselves very seriously."
-- Oscar Wilde

"To keep your character intact, you cannot stoop to filthy acts. It makes it easier to stoop the next time."
-- Katherine Hepburn

"Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. But if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you."
-- Warren Buffett

"Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power."
-- Robert G. Ingersoll

"You grow up the day you have your first real laugh—at yourself."
-- Ethel Barrymore

"Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain, and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving."
-- Dale Carnegie

"The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat one's self. All sin is easy after that."
-- Philip James Bailey

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