"Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish the rest." Mark Twain
"Your reputation is in the hands of
others. That's what a reputation is. You can't control that. The only thing you can
control is your character."Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
"Of all the properties which belong to
honorable men, not one is so highly prized as that of character." Henry Clay
"Circumstances do not make a man, they
reveal him." Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
"Die when I may, I want it said by
those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I
thought a flower would grow." Abraham Lincoln
"Judge of your natural character by
what you do in your dreams." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"There is nothing in which people more
betray their character than in what they laugh at." Goethe
"It's really a wonder that I haven't
dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep
them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at
heart." Anne Frank
"Character cannot be developed in ease
and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened,
vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved." Helen Keller
"Who you are speaks so loudly I can't
hear what you're saying." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"That which does not kill me, makes me
stronger." SEAL Team saying
"Kindness in words creates confidence
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness Kindness in giving creates love." Lao-Tzu
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is
fighting a harder battle." Plato
"Do right. Do your best. Treat others
as you want to be treated." Lou Holtz
"A man never stands as tall as when he
kneels to help a child."The Knights of Pythagoras
"If you stand straight, do not fear a
crooked shadow." Chinese Proverb
"Glass, china, and reputation are
easily cracked and never well mended."Old Folk Saying
"Where there is no shame, there is no
honor." African Proverb
"Men of genius are admired, men of
wealth are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are
trusted."Alfred Adler
"It is not only fine feathers that
make fine birds."Aesop
"If we can implant in our people the
Christian virtues which we sum up in the word character, and, at the same time, give them
a knowledge of the line which should be drawn between voluntary action and governmental
compulsion in a democracy, and of what can be accomplished within the stern laws of
economics, we will enable them to retain their freedom, and at the same time, make them
worthy to be free."Winthrop Williams Aldrich
"Don't accept that others know you
better than yourself. Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right
efforts will inevitably bring about right results."James Allen
"Whether you be man or woman you will
never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind
next to honor."James Allen
"The moment a question comes to your
mind, see yourself mentally taking hold of it and disposing of it. In that moment is your
choice made. Thus you learn to take the path to the right. Thus you learn to become the
decider and not the vacillator. Thus you build character."H. Van Anderson
"The moment a question comes to your
mind, see yourself mentally taking hold of it and disposing of it. In that moment is your
choice made. Thus you learn to take the path to the right. Thus you learn to become the
decider and not the vacillator. Thus you build character." H. Van Anderson
"A person shows what he is by what he
does with what he has."Anonymous
"At a distance from home a man is
judged by what he means." Anonymous
"Character is a diamond that scratches
every other stone."Anonymous
"Character is a victory, not a
gift."Anonymous
"Character, like a kettle, once
mended, always requires repairs."Anonymous
"I am building a character that shall
never know completion.
May I, as the days come and go, ever draw nearer to God through service to His
children."Anonymous
"I watched them tearing a building
down
A gang of men in a busy town.
With a Ho-Heave-Ho, a lusty yell
They swung a beamand a side wall fell.
I asked the foreman, "Are these men
skilled
And the men you'd hire if you had to build?"
"For the most part," he said,
"No indeed.
Just common labor is all I need.
"I can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken a year to do.
And I thought to myself, as I went away,
Which of these roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder, who works with care,
Measuring life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deeds to a well made plan?
Patiently doing the things I can?
Or, am I a wrecker, who walks the town
Content with the labor of tearing down?"
Anonymous
"Reputation is the shell a man
discards when he leaves life for immortality. His character he takes with
him."Anonymous
"Reputation is what the world thinks a
man is; character is what he really is."Anonymous
"Though a man without money is poor, a
man with nothing but money is still poorer. Worldly gifts cannot bear up the spirits from
fainting and sinking when trials and troubles come, any more than headache can be cured by
a golden crown or toothache by a chain of pearls."Anonymous
"When I do right, no one remembers.
When I do wrong, no one ever forgets."Anonymous
"When small men begin to cast long
shadows, it is a sure sign that the sun is setting."Anonymous
"You can tell what a man is by what he
does when he hasnt anything to do."Anonymous
"You can't measure the heart of a
champion."Anonymous
"You dont have to tell how you
live each day,
You dont have to say if you work or you play,
Attired, true barometer serves in the place,
However you life, it will show in your face.
The false, the deceit that you bear in your
heart
Will not stay inside where it first got a start;
For sinew and blood are a thin veil of lace
What you wear in your heart, you wear in your face.
If your life is unselfish, if for others
you live,
For not what you get, but how much you can give;
If you live close to God in his infinite grace
You dont have to tell it, it shows in your face."
Anonymous
"If you are not leaning, no one will
let you down."Dr. Robert Anthony
"Such as are thy habitual thoughts,
such also will be the character of thy soulfor the soul is dyed by the thoughts. Dye
it then, with a continuous series of such thoughts as thesethat where a man can
live, there if he will, he can also live well."Marcus Antonius
"Dignity does not consist in
possessing honors, but in deserving them."Aristotle
"To enjoy the things we ought and to
hate the things we ought has the greatest bearing on excellence of
character."Aristotle
"Good habits are not made on
birthdays, nor Christian character at the new year. The workshop of character is everyday
life. The uneventful and commonplace hour is where the battle is lost or won."Maltbie
Davenport Babcock,
"A character standard is far more
important than even a gold standard. The success of all economic systems is still
dependent upon both righteous leaders and righteous people. In the last analysis, our
national future depends upon our national character that is, whether it is spiritually or
materially minded."Roger Ward Babson
"Character builds slowly, but it can
be torn down with incredible swiftness."Faith Baldwin
"As diamond cuts diamond, and one hone
smoothes a second, all the parts of intellect are whetstones to each other; and genius,
which is but the result of their mutual sharpening, is character, too."H. W. Bartol
"No man can tell whether he is rich or
poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according
to what he is, not according to what he has."Henry Ward Beecher
"Thought creates character."Annie
Bessant
"Character may be manifested in the
great moments, but it is made in the small ones."
Phillips Brooks
"Christianity knows no truth which is
not the child of love and the parent of duty."Phillips Brooks
"Sad is the day for any man when he
becomes absolutely satisfied with the life he is living, the thoughts that he is thinking
and the deeds that he is doing; when there ceases to be forever beating at the doors of
his soul a desire to do something larger which he seeks and knows he was meant and
intended to do."
Phillips Brooks
"Some day, in years to come, you will
be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life.
But the real struggle is here, now, in these quiet weeks. Now it is being decided whether,
in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously
conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long-continued process."
Phillips Brooks
"Even as water carves monuments of
stone, so do our thoughts shape our character.
Hugh B. Brown
"Our character is what we do when we
think no one is looking."Jackson Browne
"It is an old saying, and one of
fearful and fathomless import, that we are forming characters for eternity. Form- ing
characters? Whose? Our own or others? Bothand in that momentous act lies the peril
and responsibility of our existence."Elihu Burritt
"A mans got to know his
limitations."Harry Callahan
"All honors wounds are
self-inflicted."Andrew Carnegie
"The higher up you go, the more gentle
you have to reach down to help other people succeed."
Rick Castro
"After I'm dead I'd rather have people
ask why I have no monument than why I have one."
Cato the Elder
"Every human being is intended to have
a character of his own; to be what no other is, and to do what no other can
do."William Ellery Channing
"Every human being is intended to have
a character of his own; to be what no other is, and to do what no other can
do."Edward Hubbel Chapin
"Be your character what it will, it
will be known; and nobody will take it upon your word."
Philip Dormer Shanhope, Lord Chesterfield
"He adorned whatever subject he either
spoke or wrote upon, by the most splendid eloquence."Philip Dormer Shanhope, Lord
Cheserfield
"The nation looked upon him as a
deserter, and he shrunk into insignificancy and an earldom."
Philip Dormer Shanhope, Lord Chesterfield
"The real long term objective of the
Welfare Plan is the fulfilling of character in the members of the Church, givers and
receivers, rescuing all that is finest down deep inside of them, and bringing to flower
and fruitage the latent richness of the Spirit, which, after all, is the mission and
purpose and reason for being of this Church.
J. Reuben Clark Jr.
"A nation's character is the sum of
its splendid deeds; they constitute one common patrimony, the nation's inheritance. They
awe foreign powers, they arouse and animate our own people."
Henry Clay
"Of all the properties which belong to
honorable men, not one is so highly prized as that of character."Henry Clary
"Our own heart, and not other men's
opinions, forms our true honor."Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"There are two types of people
those who come into a room and say, 'Well, here I am!' and those who come in and say, 'Ah,
there you are."Frederick L. Collins
"It is true that we shall not be able
to reach perfection, but in our struggle toward it we shall strengthen our characters and
give stability to our ideas, so that, whilst ever advancing calmly in the same direction,
we shall b e rendered capable of applying the faculties with which we have been gifted to
the best possible account."Confucius
"We do not need more national
development, we need more spiritual development. We do not need more intellectual power,
we need more spiritual power. We do not need more knowledge, we need more character. We do
not need more law, we need more religion. We do not need more of the things that are seen,
we need more of the things that are unseen."
John Calvin Coolidge
"Responsibility is the thing people
dread most of all. Yet it is the one thing in the world that develops us, gives us man
hood or womanhood fibre."Dr. Frank Crane
"The good man is the man who, no
matter how morally unworthy he has been, is moving to become better."John Dewey
"Character isn't inherited. One builds
it daily by the way one thinks and acts, thought by thought, action by action. If one lets
fear or hate or anger take possession of the mind, they become self-forged
chains."Helen Douglas
"To the pure geometer the radius of
curvature is an incidental characteristic like the grin of the Cheshire cat. To the
physicist it is an indispensable characteristic. It would be going too far to say that to
the physicist the cat is merely incidental to the grin. Physics is concerned with
interrelatedness such as the interrelatedness of cats and grins. In this case the
"cat without a grin" and the "grin without a cat" are equally set
aside as purely mathematical phantasies."
Sir Arthur Anthony Eddington
"The surest way to know our gold, is
to look upon it and examine it in God's furnace, where he tries it that we may see what it
is. If we have a mind to know whether a building stands strong or not, we must look upon
it when the wind blows. If we would know whether a staff be strong, or a rotten, broken
reed, we must observe it when it is leaned on and weight is borne upon it. If we would
weigh ourselves justly we must weigh ourselves in God's scales that he makes use of to
weigh us."Jonathan Edwards
"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness
of character."Albert Einstein
'Character, says Novalis, in one of his
questionable aphorismscharacter is destiny.George Elliot
"Each man takes care that his neighbor
shall not cheat him. But a day comes when he begins to care that he does not cheat his
neighbor. Then all goes well he has changed his market-cart into a chariot of the
sun."Ralph Waldo Emerson
"If you would not be known to do
anything, never do it."Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Make the most of yourself, for that
is all there is of you."Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Self-trust is the essence of
heroism."Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Those who listened to Lord Chatham
felt that there was something finer in the man, than anything which he said."Ralph
Waldo Emerson
"What lies behind us and what lies
before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"What you do speaks so loud that I
cannot hear what you say."Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Who you are is speaking so loudly
that I can't hear what you're saying."Ralph Waldo Emerson
"No gilded dome swells from the lowly
roof to catch the morning or evening beam; but the love and gratitude of united America
settle upon it in one eternal sunshine. From beneath that humble roof went forth the
intrepid and unselfish warrior, the magistrate who knew no glory but his country's good;
to that he returned, happiest when his work was done. There he lived in noble simplicity,
there he died in glory and peace. While it stands, the latest generations of the grateful
children of America will make this pilgrimage to it as to a shrine; and when it shall
fall, if fall it must, the memory and the name of Washington shall shed an eternal glory
on the spot."Edward Everett
"Life is a series of experiences, each
one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the
world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and griefs which
we endure help us in our marching onward."Henry Ford
"He that has done you a kindness will
be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged."Benjamin
Franklin
"Character is not made in a crisis it
is only exhibited."Robert Freeman
"Essential characteristics of a
gentleman: The will to put himself in the place of others; the horror of forcing others
into positions from which he would himself recoil; the power to do what seems to him to be
right, without considering what others may say or think."John Galsworthy
"A "No" uttered from deepest
conviction is better and greater than a Yes merely uttered to please, or what
is worse, to avoid trouble."Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
"One man cannot do right in one
department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is
one indivisible whole."Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
"Faced with crisis, the man of
character falls back on himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility
for it, makes it his own."General Charles DeGaulle
"Success is always temporary. When all
is said and done, the only thing you'll have left is your character."Vince Gill
"We are where we are, as we are,
because of what we are."Earle J. Glade
"Character develops itself in the
stream of life."Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Genius develops in quiet places,
Character out in the full current of human life.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"He who is plenteously provided for
from within needs but little from without."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Men show their character in nothing
more clearly than by what they think laughable."Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Talent develops in tranquillity,
character in the full current of human life."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Talent is nurtured in solitude;
character is formed in the stormy billows of the world."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"We are shaped and fashioned by what
we love."Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"We have all been inoculated with
Christianity, and are never likely to take it seriously now! You put some of the virus of
some dreadful illness into a man's arm, and there is a little itchiness, some
scratchiness, a slight discomfortdisagreeable, no doubt, but not the fever of the
real disease, the turning and the tossing, and the ebbing strength. And we have all been
inoculated with Christianity, more or less. We are on Christ's side, we wish him well, we
hope that He will win, and we are even prepared to do something for Him, provided, of
course, that He is reasonable, and does not make too much of an upset among our cozy
comforts and our customary ways. But there is not the passion of zeal, and the burning
enthusiasm, and the eagerness of self-sacrifice, of the real faith that changes character
and wins the world."A.J. Gossip
"A reputation once broken may possibly
be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack
was."Joseph Hall
"A good character is, in all cases,
the fruit of personal exertion. It is not inherited from parents; it is not created by
external advantages; it is no necessary appendage of birth, wealth, talents, or station;
but it is the result of one's own endeavorsthe fruit and reward of good principles
manifested in a course of virtuous and honorable action."J. Hawes
"A good name is seldom regained. When
character is gone, all is gone, and one of the richest jewels of life is lost
forever."J. Hawes
"There are men whom a happy
disposition, a strong desire of glory and esteem, inspire with the same love for justice
and virtue which men in general have for riches and honors....But the number of these men
is so small that I only mention them in honor of humanity."Helvetius
"To keep your character intact you
cannot stoop to filthy acts. It makes it easier to stoop the next time."Katherine
Hepburn
"A mans character is his
fate.Heraclitus
"Character is destiny.Heraclitus
"What lies behind us and what lies
before us are tiny matters,
compared to what lies within us."Oliver Wendell Holmes
"The true test of character is not how
much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do."Jon Holt
"What people say behind your back is
your standing in the community."Ed Howe
"Character is the result of two
things: mental attitude and the way we spend our time."
Elbert Green Hubbard
"The proper time to influence the
character of a child is about a hundred years before he is born."Dean Inge
"The proper time to influence the
character of a child is about a hundred years before he is born."Washington Irvine
"One man with courage makes a
majority.Andrew Jackson
"What is character but the
determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character?"Henry
James Jr.
"In matters of style swim with the
current; In matters of principle, stand like a rock."
Thomas Jefferson
"Of the various executive abilities,
no one excited more anxious concern than that of placing the interests of our
fellow-citizens in the hands of honest men, with understanding sufficient for their
stations. No duty is at the same time more difficult to fulfil. The knowledge of character
possessed by a single individual is of necessity limited. To seek out the best through the
whole Union, we must resort to the information which from the best of men, acting
disinterestedly and with the purest motives, is sometimes incorrect."Thomas Jefferson
"A good name, like good will, is got
by many actions and lost by one.Lord Jeffrey
"Every man has three characters: That
which he exhibits, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has."Alphonse Karr
"Character cannot be developed in ease
and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened,
vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.
Helen Adams Keller
"Courage is doing without witnesses
that which we would be capable of doing before everyone."François, Duc de La
Rochefoucauld
"Weakness of character is the only
defect which cannot be amended."
François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld
"The true measure of a man is how he
treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."
Ann Landers
"Action, looks, words, steps, form the
alphabet by which you may spell character.
Johann Kaspar Lavater
"I am prejudiced in favor of him who,
without impudence, can ask boldly. He has faith in humanity, and faith in himself. Noone
who is not accustomed to giving grandly can ask nobly and with boldness."Johann
Kaspar Lavater
"What you see and hear depends a great
deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are.C.S. Lewis
"Character is like a tree and
reputation its shadow. The shadow is what we think it is; the tree is the real
thing."Abraham Lincoln
"Nearly all men can stand adversity,
but if you want to test a mans character, give him power."Abraham Lincoln
"Things turn out best for the people
who make the best of the way things turn out."Art Linkletter
"Every man must some time or other be
trusted to himself."John Locke
"The discipline of desire is the
background of character."John Locke
"The measure of a man's real character
is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out."Thomas Babington, Lord
Macaulay
"A man without character is like a
ship without a rudder.Karl G. Maeser
"New York is one of the capitals of
the world and Los Angeles is a constellation of plastic, San Francisco is a lady, Boston
has become Urban Renewal, Philadelphia and Baltimore and Washington wink like dull
diamonds in the smog of Eastern Megalopolis, and New Orleans is unremarkable past the
French Quarter. Detroit is a one-trade town, Pittsburgh has lost its golden triangle, St.
Louis has become the golden arch of the corporation, and nights in Kansas City close
early. The oil depletion allowance makes Houston and Dallas naught but checkerboards for
this sort of game. But Chicago is a great American city. Perhaps it is the last of the
great American cities."Norman Mailer
" . . . success is a combination of
many things, but a good character is the foundation of the kind of success that will bring
you real happiness. Choose your friends wiselythey will make or break
you."Marriott Hotels
"Tolerance is another word for
indifference."William Somerset Maugham
"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."André Maurois
"A big man is one who makes us feel
bigger when we are with him."John C. Maxwell
"A man's reaction to his appetites and
impulses when they are roused gives the measure of that man's character. In these
reactions are revealed the man's power to govern or his forced servility to
yield."David Oman McKay
"There is [a] spiritual strength
derived from the subjecting of the physical appetite to the will of the individual.
"He who reigns within himself and rules passions, desires, and fears is more than
king." If there were no other virtues in fasting but gaining strength of character,
that alone would be sufficient justification for its universal acceptance."David Oman
McKay
"Character consists of what you do on
the third and fourth tries."John Albert Michener
"You can easily judge the character of
a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him."James D. Miles
"You will be better advised to watch
what we do instead of what we say."John D. Mitchell
"A person's treatment of money is the
most decisive test of his character, how they make it and how they spend it."James
Moffatt
"The most vital test of a mans
character is not how he behaves after success, but how he sustains defeat."Raymond
Moley
"It is not only for what we do that we
are held responsible, but also for what we do not do."John Baptiste Moliére
"Character is what you are in the
dark."Dwight L. Moody
"No man can climb out beyond the
limitations of his own character."John Lord Morley
"Character is a subtle thing. Its
sources are obscure, its roots delicate and invisible. We know it when we see it and it
always commands our admiration, and the absence of it our pity; but it is largely a matter
of will." Leo J. Muir
"The real character of a man is found
out by his amusements."Jean Iris Murdoch
"Tell me what ticks you off, and I
will tell you what makes you tick."Lloyd John Ogilvie
"Character is much easier kept than
recovered."Thomas Paine
"Reputation is what men and women
think of us; character is what God and angels know of us."Thomas Paine
"Let us do our duty in our shop or our
kitchen, in the market, the street, the office, the school, the home, just as faithfully
as if we stood in the front rank of some great battle, and knew that victory for mankind
depended on our bravery, strength, and skill. When we do that, the humblest of us will be
serving in that great army which achieves the welfare of the world."Theodore Parker
"Honor and shame from no condition
rise; Act well your part, there all the honor lies."
Alexander Pope
"Most women have no characters at
all."Alexander Pope
"Passing the veil does not alter a
man; it certainly takes him from the eyes of flesh, but the capacity, the intelligence,
the thinking powers, are all alive and quick; and if they hear the Gospel they will be
glad, and the promises are made to them, and they will rejoice in them."Parley P.
Pratt
"Character is made by what you stand
for; reputation by what you fall for."Robert Quillen
"Not a day passes over the earth, but
men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great words and suffer noble
sorrows."Charles Reade
"Sow a Thought, and you reap an Act;
Sow an Act, and you reap a Habit;
Sow a Habit, and you reap a Character;
Sow a Character, and you reap a Destiny."
Charles Reade
You can tell a lot about a fellow's
character by his way of eating jelly beans."Ronald Wilson Reagan
"Calamity is the test of
integrity."Samuel Richardson
"A man never shows his own character
so plainly as by his manner of portraying anothers."
Jean Paul Richter
"In later life, as in earlier, only a
few persons influence the formation of our character; the multitude pass us by like a
distant army. One friend, one teacher, one beloved, one club, one dining table, one work
table are the means by which one's nation and the spirit of one's nation affect the
individual."Jean Paul Richter
"Never does a man portray his own
character more vividly than in his manner of portraying another."Jean Paul Richter
"The four cornerstones of character on
which the structure of this nation was built are: Initiative, Imagination, Individuality
and Independence."Edward Vernon Rickenbacker
"The only way to get rid of
responsibilities is to discharge them."Walter S. Robertson
"I believe in the sacredness of a
promise, that a man's word should be as good as his bond; that character - not wealth or
power or position - is of supreme worth."
John (Jay) Davison Rockefeller, IV
"Live in such a way that you would not
be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip."
Will Rogers
"The recent action of an eastern
state's education department in eliminating from its curriculum all courses dealing in any
way with moral ethics, on the pretext of complying with the Constitutional provision for
the separation of church and state, is most disturbing. This is a repudiation of all
responsibility for the building of characterthe true purpose of
education."Marion G. Romney
"It is not fair to ask of others what
you are unwilling to do yourself."Anna Eleanor Roosevelot
"Character, in the long run, is the
decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike."Theodore Roosevelt
"Character is the foundation stone
upon which one must build to win respect. Just as no worthy building can be erected on a
weak foundation, so no lasting reputation worthy of respect can be built on a weak
character."R.C. Samsel
"It is easy to be tolerant of the
principles of other people if you have none of your own."
Herbert Samuel
"Honor has not to be won; it must only
not be lost."Arthur Schopenhauerv
"You can tell the character of every
man when you see how he receives praise."
Lucius Annæus Seneca
"In thy face I see
The map of honour, truth, and loyalty
William Shakespeare
"Men should be what they
seem."William Shakespeare
"A persons character is but half
formed until after wedlock."C. Simmons
"A certain bygone philosophy - which
certainly must have quite forgotten all about the real child - used to speak of the
child's nature as a tabula rasa, or 'blank page,' upon which experience and training might
write what they pleased. As a matter of fact, the childs nature at birth, like that
of a calf or a chick, is pretty well scribbled over by the experience of its ancestors. It
is far from being blank, for as soon as the little organism comes into the world, it
begins to do certain things and do them with much zeal and determination, as every one
knows who knows real children."
Edward O. Sisson
"Abraham Lincoln tells somewhere that
as a boy when he met an obscure or ambiguous sentence in his reading it threw him into a
sort of rage. The fact is that this was simply a form of instinct for clear thinking which
is found in every child and manifests itself abundantly to the perception of the good
teacher. Far more important than any particular piece of knowledge, than geography or
arithmetic or spelling, is this love of clearness in our mental life and instinctive
hatred of confusion and obscurity. Let us learn to know what we know clearly and
definitely, and also how we know it.
The great intellectual need of men and
women in the outer world is not so much more knowledge as it is better knowledge and
better thinking. There is much philosophy in the humorist's remark, "It was never my
ignorance that done me up, but the things I know'd that wasn't so." The great enemies
of intellectual life are superstition, gullibility, and fallacious reasoning. A mere
knowledge of facts, important as that is, is no safeguard against these. A conscious
desire and resolve to think clearly is the true remedy.
Our national success will depend largely upon the development of a generation of men and
women who have formed a love and habit of clear thinking and who can do their part in
solving the problems that confront civilized man today.
Edward O. Sisson
"GOOD is good and bad is bad, and
nowhere is the difference between good and bad so wide and so fateful as in human
character. For character makes destiny in the individual and in the race."Edward O.
Sisson
"In one sense the whole process of
development consists of the formation of habits; for knowledge itself, and the powers of
thought, as well as the higher elements in the will, all depend upon the establishment of
fixed ways of reacting to given stimuli. Consequently, the general laws of habituation
underlie the whole of education. But the term habit is more commonly restricted to those
established reactions that act with little or no participation of consciousness, or, in
other words, mechanically or automatically. Such habits as these begin to form very early,
and constitute a kind of supporting framework for the higher elements of character.
Edward O. Sisson
"Be more concerned with your character
than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is
merely what others think you are."John Wooden
You will never do anything in this world
without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. --James Allen--
No one ever lost his honor, except he who had it not. --Pubilius Syrus--
Men of genius are admired, men of wealth
are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted.
It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them. --Alfred Adler--
It is not only for what we do that we are
held responsible, but also for what we do not do. --Moliere--
I may not agree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death you're right to say it.
--Voltaire--
When I do right, no one remembers. When I
do wrong, no one ever forgets.
Do not condemn the judgement of another because it differs from your own. You may both be
wrong. --Dandemis--
Few persons have courage enough to appear as good as they really are. --J.C. & A.W.
Hare--
Don't accept that others know you better
than yourself.
Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that
right thoughts and right efforts will inevitably bring about right results. --James
Allen--
Courage is as often the outcome of despair as of hope; in the one case we have nothing to
lose, in the other everything to gain. --Dianne de Poitiers--
Things turn out the best for the people who
make the best of the way things turn out. --A. Linkletter--
Keep away from people who try to belittle
your ambitions. Small people always do that but the really great make you feel that you,
too, can become great. --Mark Twain--
Leaders are like eagles, they don't flock
together; you find them one at a time.
You can't measure the heart of a champion.
Listen to people twice as much as you
speak. --Anonymous--
Who you are is speaking so loudly that I
can't hear what you're saying. --Ralph Waldo Emerson--
The higher up you go, the more gentle you
have to reach down to help other people succeed. --Rick Castro--
In matters of style swim with the current;
In matters of principle, stand like a rock. --Jefferson--
The intelligent man is one who has
successfully fulfilled many accomplishments, and is yet willing to learn more. --Ed
Parker--
When the fight begins within himself, a
man's worth something. --Robert Browning--
Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people.
--John D. Rockefeller--

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