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Character: Quotations from Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations
Young men soon give, and soon forget affronts; Old age is slow in both.— ADDISON — Cato. Act II. Sc. 5.
No great genius was ever without some mixture of madness, nor can anything grand or superior to the voice of common mortals be spoken except by the agitated soul.— ARISTOTLE
Both man and womankind belie their nature When they are not kind.— BAILEY — Festus. Sc. Home.
Zealous, yet modest; innocent, though free; Patient of toil; serene amidst alarms; Inflexible in faith; invincible in arms.— BEATTIE — The Minstrel. Bk. I. St. 11.
See! There is Jackson standing like a stone wall.— BERNARD E. BEE — Battle of Manassas
(Bull Run). July 21, 1861.
Many men are mere warehouses full of merchandise-the head, the heart, are stuffed with goods. *** There are apartments in their souls which were once tenanted by taste, and love, and joy, and worship, but they are all deserted now, and the rooms are filled with earthy and material things.— HENRY WARD BEECHER — Life
Thoughts. Many men build as cathedrals were built, the part nearest the ground finished; but that part which soars toward heaven, the turrets and the spires, forever incomplete.— HENRY WARD BEECHER — Life
Thoughts. No, when the fight begins within himself, A man's worth something.— ROBERT BROWNING — Men and Women.
Bishop Blougram's Apology. Incivility is not a Vice of the Soul, but the effect of several Vices; of Vanity, Ignorance of Duty, Laziness, Stupidity, Distraction, Contempt of others, and Jealousy.— DE LA BRUYÈRE — The Characters or
Manners of the Present Age. Vol. II. Ch. XI. All men that are ruined, are ruined on the side of their natural propensities.— BURKE — Letters. Letter 1. On a
Regicide Peace. He was not merely a chip of the old Block, but the old Block itself.— BURKE — About Wm. Pitt- Wraxall's Memoirs. Vol. II. P. 342.
Hannibal, as he had mighty virtues, so had he many vices; *** he had two distinct persons in him. S.— BURTON — Anatomy of Melancholy.
Democritus to the Reader. Heroic, stoic Cato, the sententious, Who lent his lady to his friend Hortensius.— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto VI. St. 7.
So well she acted all and every part By turns-with that vivacious versatility, Which many people take for want of heart. They err-'tis merely what is call'd mobility, A thing of temperament and not of art, Though seeming so, from its supposed facility; And false-though true; for surely they're sincerest Who are strongly acted on by what is nearest. и. BYRON-Don Juan. Canto XVI. St. 97. With more capacity for love than earth Bestows on most of mortal mould and birth, His early dreams of good out-stripp'd the truth, And troubled manhood follow'd baffled youth.— BYRON — Lara. Canto I. St. 18.
Genteel in personage, Conduct, and equipage; Noble by heritage, Generous and free.— HENRY CAREY — The Contrivances. Act I. Sc. 2. L. 22.
Clever men are good, but they are not the best.— CARLYLE — Goethe. Edinburgh
Review, 1828. It can be said of him, When he departed he took a Man's life with him. No sounder piece of British manhood was put together in that eighteenth century of Time.— CARLYLE — Sir Walter Scott. London
London and Westminster Review. 1838. It is in general more profitable to reckon up our defects than to boast of our attainments.— CARLYLE — Essays. Signs of the Times.
We are firm believers in the maxim that, for all right judgment of any man or thing, it is useful, nay, essential, to see his good qualities before pronouncing on his bad.— CARLYLE — Essays. Goethe.
Every one is the son of his own works.— CERVANTES — Don Quixote. Pt. I. Bk. IV. Ch. XX.
I can look sharp as well as another, and let me alone to keep the cobwebs out of my eyes.— CERVANTES — Don Quixote. Pt. II. Ch. XXXIII.
Thou art a cat, and rat, and a coward to boot.— CERVANTES — Don Quixote. Pt. I. Bk. III. Ch. VIII.
He was a verray perfight gentil knight.— CHAUCER — Canterbury Tales. Prologue. L. 72.
The nation looked upon him as a deserter, and he shrunk into insignificancy and an Earldom.— EARL OF CHESTERFIELD — Character of
Pulteney. 1763. He (Hampden) had a head to contrive, a tongue to persuade, and a hand to execute, any mischief.— ED. HYDE CLARENDON — History of the Rebellion. Vol. III. Bk. VII.
In numbers warmly pure, and sweetly strong.— COLLINS — Ode to Simplicity.
There is the love of knowing without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads to extravagant conduct.— CONFUCIUS — Analects. Bk. XVII. Ch. VIII.
An honest man, close-button'd to the chin, Broadcloth without, and a warm heart within.— COWPER — Epistle to Joseph Hill.
Elegant as simplicity, and warm As ecstasy.— COWPER — Table Talk. Line 588.
He cannot drink five bottles, bilk the score, Then kill a constable, and drink five more; But he can draw a pattern, make a tart, And has the ladies' etiquette by heart.— COWPER — Progress of Error. L. 191.
His mind his kingdom, and his will his law. γ. COWPER-Truth. Line 405. The Frenchman, easy, debonair and brisk, Give him his lass, his fiddle, and his frisk, Is always happy, reign whoever may, And laughs the sense of mis'ry far away.— COWPER — Table Talk. L. 237.
Virtue and vice had boundaries in old time, Not to be pass'd.— COWPER — The Task. Bk. III. L. 75.
O could I flow like thee! and make thy stream My great example, as it is my theme: Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull; Strong without rage, without o'erflowing full.— Sir JOHN DENHAM — Cooper's Hill. L. 189.
Did you ever hear of Captain Wattle? He was all for love and a little for the bottle.— CHAS. DIBDIN — Captain Wattle and
Miss Rol. He's tough, ma'am, -tough is J. B.; tough and de-vilish sly.— DICKENS — Dombey and Son. Ch. VII.
A man so various, that he seem'd to be Not one, but all mankind's epitome; Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong, Was everything by starts, and nothing long; But in the course of one revolving moon, Was chymist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon. X.— DRYDEN — Absalom and Achitophel. Pt. I. L. 545.
For every inch that is not fool, is rogue.— DRYDEN — Absalom and Achitophel. Pt. II. L. 463.
Her wit was more than man, her innocence a child.— DRYDEN — Elegy on Mrs. Killigrew. L. 70.
Plain without pomp, and rich without a show.— DRYDEN — The Flower and the Leaf. L. 187.
So over violent, or over civil, That every man with him was God or Devil.— DRYDEN — Absalom and Achitophel. Pt. I. L. 557.
Thus all below is strength, and all above is grace.— DRYDEN — Epistle to Congreve. L. 19.
C. There is a great deal of unmapped country within us which would have to be taken into account in an explanation of our gusts and storms.— GEORGE ELIOT — Daniel Deronda. Bk. III. Ch. XXIV.
Character is higher than intellect. *** A great soul will be strong to live, as well as to think.— EMERSON — The American Scholar.
No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character.— EMERSON — Essay. On Character.
A great character, founded on the living rock of principle, is, in fact, not a solitary phenomenon, to be at once perceived, limited, and described. It is a dispensation of Providence, designed to have not merely an immediate, but a continuous, progressive, and never-ending agency. It survives the man who possessed it; survives his age, -perhaps his country, his language.— ED. EVERETT — Speech. July 4, 1835.
The Youth of Washington. Every one of us, whatever our speculative opinions, knows better than he practices, and recognizes a better law than he obeys.— FROUDE — Short Studies on Great Subjects. On Progress. Pt. II.
Human improvement is from within outwards.— FROUDE — Short Studies on Great
Subjects. Divus Cæsar. Our thoughts and our conduct are our own.— FROUDE — Short Studies on Great
Subjects. Education. Hearts of oak are our ships, Gallant tars are our men.— GARRICK — Hearts of Oak.
In every deed of mischief, he had a heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute.— GIBBON — Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Ch. XLVIII. A. D. 1180.
That man may last, but never lives, Who much receives, but nothing gives; Whom none can love, whom none can thank,- Creation's blot, creation's blank.— THOMAS GIBBONS — When Jesus Dwelt.
A man not perfect, but of heart So high, of such heroic rage, That even his hopes became a part Of earth's eternal heritage.— R. W. GILDER — At the President's Grave.
Epitaph. To be engaged in opposing wrong affords, under the conditions of our mental constitution, but a slender guarantee for being right.— GLADSTONE — Time and Place of Homer.
Introduction. Here lies David Garrick-describe me, who can, An abridgment of all that was pleasant in man. As an actor, confess'd without rival to shine; As a wit, if not first, in the very first line.— GOLDSMITH — Retaliation. L. 93.
Our Garrick's a salad; for in him we see Oil, vinegar, sugar, and saltness agree.— GOLDSMITH — Retaliation. L. 11.
Though equal to all things, for all things unfit; Too nice for a statesman, too proud for a wit.— GOLDSMITH — Retaliation. L. 37.
Hands, that the rod of empire might have swayed, Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.— GRAY — Elegy in a Country Churchyard. St. 12.
Rugged strength and radiant beauty- These were one in Nature's plan; Humble toil and heavenward duty- These will form the perfect man.— SARAH J. HALE — Iron. St. VI.
Green be the turf above thee, Friend of my better days! None knew thee but to love thee, Nor named thee but to praise.— FITZ — GREENE HALLECK-On the death
of Joseph R. Drake. Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel. J. C. and A. W. HARE-Guesses at Truth. Anyone must be mainly ignorant or thoughtless, who is surprised at everything he see or wonderfully conceited who expects everything to conform to his standard of propriety.— WM. HAZLITT — Lectures on the English
mic Writers. On Wit and Humour. Only a sweet and virtuous soul, Like season'd timber, never gives; But though the whole world turn to coal, Then chiefly lives.— HERBERT — The Church. Vertue.
'Tis the same with common natures; Use 'em kindly, they rebel : But, be rough as Nutmeg-graters, And the rogues obey you well.— AARON HILL — Verses Written on a
Window, In a Journey to Scotland. O Douglas, O Douglas! Tendir and trewe. C.— SIR RICHARD HOLLAND — The Buke of Howlat. St. XXXI.
We must have a weak spot or two in a character before we can love it much. People that do not laugh or cry, or take more of anything than is good for them, or use anything but dictionary-words, are admirable subjects for biographies. But we don't care most for those flat pattern flowers that press best in the herbarium.— O. W. HOLMES — The Professor at the Breakfast Table. Ch. III. Iris.
Whatever comes from the brain carries the hue of the place it came from, and whatever comes from the heart carries the heat and color of its birthplace.— O. W. HOLMES — The Professor at the Breakfast Table. Ch. VI.
But he whose inborn worth his acts commend, Of gentle soul, to human race a friend.— HOMER — Odyssey. Bk. 19. L. 383.
Pope's trans. Gentle of speech, beneficent of mind.— HOMER — Odyssey. Bk. IV. L. 917.
Pope's trans. In death a hero, as in life a friend!— HOMER — Iliad. Bk. 17. L. 758.
Pope's trans. Wise to resolve, and patient to perform.— HOMER — Odyssey. Bk. IV. L. 372.
Pope's trans. The love of moral beauty, and that retention of the spirit of youth, which is implied by the indulgence of a poetical taste, are evidences of good disposition in any man, and argue well for the largeness of his mind in other respects.— LEIGH HUNT — Men, Women and Books.
Of Statesmen Who Have Written Verses. A Soul of power, a well of lofty Thought A chastened Hope that ever points to Heaven.— JOHN HUNTER — Sonnet. A Replication
He was worse than provincial-he was parochial. HENRY JAMES, JR. - Of Thoreau. A Critical Life of Hawthorne. Where the vivacity of the intellect and the strength of the passions, exceed the development of the moral faculties, the character is likely to be embittered or corrupted by extremes, either of adversity or prosperity.— MRS. JAMESON — Studies. On the Female
Character. A very unclubable man.— SAM'L JOHNSON — Boswell's Life of
Johnson. 1764. Note. If he does really think that there is no distinction between virtue and vice, why, Sir, when he leaves our houses let us count our spoons.— SAM'L JOHNSON — Boswell's Life of
Johnson. 1763. Officious, innocent, sincere, Of every friendless name the friend.— SAM'L JOHNSON — Verses on the Death of Mr. Robert Levet. St. 2.
The heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, or the hand to execute.— JUNIUS — City Address and the King's
Answer. Letter XXXVII. He is truly great that is little in himself, and that maketh no account of any height of honors.— THOMAS A KEMPIS — Imitation of Christ. Bk. I. Ch. III.
When a man dies they who survive him ask what property he has left behind. The angel who bends over the dying man asks what good deeds he has sent before him. S. The Koran. First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen.— Gen. HENRY LEE — Funeral Oration
on Washington. First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his fellow citizens. Resolution on Washington's Death. Prepared by GENERAL HENRY LEE and offered in the House of Representatives by JOHN MARSHALL. They eat, and drink, and scheme, and plod, They go to church on Sunday; And many are afraid of God, - And more of Mrs. Grundy.— FREDERICK LOCKER — The Jester's Plea.
A tender heart; a will inflexible.— LONGFELLOW — Christus. Pt. III. The
New England Tragedies. John— Shakespeare — Endicott. Act III. Sc. 2.
In this world a man must either be anvil or hammer.— LONGFELLOW — Hyperion. Bk. IV. Ch. VI.
Not in the clamor of the crowded street, Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, But in ourselves, are triumph and defeat. C.— LONGFELLOW — The Poets.
Sensitive, swift to resent, but as swift in atoning for error.— LONGFELLOW — Courtship of Miles Standish. Pt. IX. The Wedding
Day. So mild, so merciful, so strong, so good, So patient, peaceful, loyal, loving, pure.— LONGFELLOW — Christus. The Golden Legend. Pt. V. L. 319.
Thou hast the patience and the faith of Saints.— LONGFELLOW — Christus. Pt. III. The
New England Tragedies. John— Shakespeare — Endicott. Act III. Sc. 3.
All that hath been majestical In life or death, since time began, Is native in the simple heart of all, The angel heart of man.— LOWELL — An Incident in a Railroad Car. St. 10.
A nature wise With finding in itself the types of all, - With watching from the dim verge of the time What things to be are visible in the gleams Thrown forward on them from the luminous past,- Wise with the history of its own frail heart, With reverence and sorrow, and with love, Broad as the world, for freedom and for man.— LOWELL — Prometheus. L. 216.
Endurance is the crowning quality, And patience all the passion of great hearts.— LOWELL — Columbus. L. 237.
For me Fate gave, whate'er she else denied, A nature sloping to the southern side: I thank her for it, though when clouds arise Such natures double-darken gloomy skies.— LOWELL — An Epistle to George William Curtis. Postscript 1887. L. 53.
For she was jes' the quiet kind Whose naturs never vary, Like streams that keep a summer mind Snowhid in Jenooary.— LOWELL — The Courtin'. St. 22.
It is by presence of mind in untried emer gencies that the native metal of a man is tested.— LOWELL — My Study Windows.
Abraham Lincoln. Our Pilgrim stock wuz pethed with hardihood.— LOWELL — Biglow Papers. Second Series. No. 6. L. 38.
Soft-heartedness, in times like these, Shows in the upper story.— LOWELL — Biglow Papers. Second Series. No. 7. L. 119.
To judge human character rightly, a man may sometimes have very small experience, provided he has a very large heart.— BULWER-LYTTON — What Will He Do With It? Bk. V. Ch. IV.
And the chief-justice was rich, quiet, and infamous.— MACAULAY — On Warren Hastings. 1841.
We hardly know any instance of the strength and weakness of human nature so striking and so grotesque as the character of this haughty, vigilant, resolute, sagacious blue-stocking, half Mithridates and half Trissotin, bearing up against a world in arms, with an ounce of poison in one pocket and a quire of bad verses in the other.— MACAULAY — On Frederick the Great.
1842. Now will I show myself to have more of the serpent than the dove; that is more knave than fool.— MARLOWE — The Jew of Malta. Act II. Sc. 3.
Who knows nothing base, Fears nothing known. S. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- A Great Man. St. 8. Sae true his heart, sae smooth his speech, His breath like cauler air, His very foot has music in 't, As he comes up the stair.— MICKLE — There's nae Luck About the
House. (Attributed also to Jean Adam.) Great thoughts, great feelings, came to them, Like instincts, unawares.— RICH. MONCKTON MILNES — The Men of
Old Adam the goodliest man of men since born His sons, the fairest of her daughters, Eve.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. IV. L. 323.
For contemplatior. he and valor formed, For softness she and sweet attractive grace.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. IV. L. 297.
Her virtue and the conscience of her worth, That would be wooed, and not unsought be won.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. VIII. L. 502.
He that has light within his own clear breast May sit i' the centre, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Benighted walks under the mid-day sun; Himself is his own dungeon.— MILTON — Comus. L. 381.
Ofttimes nothing profits more Than self-esteem, grounded on just and right Well manag'd.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. VIII. L. 571.
Quips and Cranks and wanton Wiles, Nods and Becks and wreathed Smiles.— MILTON — L' Allegro. L. 27.
Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. III. L.99.
Unrespited, unpitied, unreprieved.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. II. L. 185.
Yet, where an equal poise of hope and fear Does arbitrate the event, my nature is That I incline to hope rather than fear, And gladly banish squint suspicion.— MILTON — Comus. L. 410.
Good at a fight, but better at a play; Godlike in giving, but the devil to pay.— MOORE — On a Cast of Sheridan's Hand.
To those who know thee not, no words can paint; And those who know thee, know all words are faint!— HANNAH MORE — Sensibility.
I see the right, and I approve it too, Condemn the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue.— OVID — Metamorphoses. VII.
Every man has at times in his mind the ideal of what he should be, but is not. This ideal may be high and complete, or it may be quite low and insufficient; yet in all men that really seek to improve, it is better than the actual character. *** Man never falls so low that he can see nothing higher than himself.— THEODORE PARKER — Critical and
Miscellaneous Writings. Essay I.. A Lesson for the Day.
Yet, if he would, man cannot live all to this world. If not religious, he will be superstitious. If he worship not the true God, he will have his idols.— THEODORE PARKER — Critical and
Miscellaneous Writings. Essay I. A Lesson for the Day. Studious of ease, and fond of humble things.— AMBROSE PHILIPS — From Holland to
a Friend in England. Grand, gloomy and peculiar, he sat upon the throne, a sceptred hermit, wrapped in the solitude of his awful originality.— CHARLES PHILLIPS — Character of
Napoleon I. Historical. Beauty that shocks you, parts that none will trust, Wit that can creep, and pride that licks the dust.— POPE — Prologue to Satires. L. 332.
Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.— POPE — Rape of the Lock. Canto V. L. 34.
Fine by defect and delicately weak.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 43.
From loveless youth to unrespected age, No passion gratified, except her rage, So much the fury still outran the wit, That pleasure miss'd her, and the scandal hit. S.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 125.
Good-humor only teaches charms to last, Still makes new conquests and maintains the past.— POPE — Epistle to Mrs. Blount. With the
Works of Voiture. Heav'n forming each on other to depend, A master, or a servant, or a friend, Bids each on other for assistance call, Till one man's weakness grows the strength of all.— POPE — Essay on Man. Ep. II. L. 250.
In men we various ruling passions find; In women two almost divide the kind; Those only fixed, they first or last obey, The love of pleasure, and the love of sway.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 207.
'Tis from high Life high Characters are drawn; A Saint in Crape is twice a Saint in Lawn: A Judge is just, a Chanc'llor juster still; A Gownman learn'd; a Bishop what you will; Wise if a minister; but if a King, More wise, more learn'd, more just, more ev'rything.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. I. Pt. II.
What then remains, but well our power to use, And keep good-humor still whate'er we lose? And trust me, dear, good-humor can prevail, When airs, and flights, and screams, and scolding fail.— POPE — Rape of the Lock. Canto V. L. 29.
Who ne'er knew joy but friendship might divide, Or gave his father grief but when he died.— POPE — Epitaph on the Hon. S. Harcourt.
With too much Quickness ever to be taught; With too much Thinking to have common Thought.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 97.
No man's defects sought they to know; So never made themselves a foe. No man's good deeds did they commend; So never rais'd themselves a friend.— PRIOR — An Epitaph.
So much his courage and his mercy strive, He wounds to cure, and conquers to forgive.— PRIOR — Ode in Imitation of Horace. Bk. III. Ode II.
He that sweareth Till no man trust him, He that lieth Till no man believe him; He that borroweth Till no man will lend him; Let him go where No man knoweth him.— HUGH RHODES — Cautions.
The Good are better made by Ill, As odours crushed are sweeter still!— SAM'L ROGERS — Jacqueline. St. 3.
Was never eie did see that face, Was never eare did heare that tong, Was never minde did minde his grace, That ever thought the travell long, But eies and eares and ev'ry thought Were with his sweete perfections caught.— MATHEW ROYDEN — An Elegie. On the
Death of Sir Philip Sidney. It is of the utmost importance that a nation should have a correct standard by which to weigh the character of its rulers.— LORD JOHN RUSSELL — Introduction to the 3rd Vol. of the Correspondence of
the Duke of Bedford. Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.— Shakespeare — Hamlet. Act I. Sc. 3. L. 61.
But I have that within which passeth show; These, but the trappings and the suits of woe.— Shakespeare — Hamlet. Act I. Sc. 2. L. 84.
Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis some thing, nothing.— Shakespeare — Othello. Act III. Sc. 3. L. 156.
* * * * * * He hath a daily beauty in his life That makes me ugly.— Shakespeare — Othello. Act V. Sc. 1. L. 19.
He is deformed, crooked, old, and sere, Ill-faced, worse-bodied, shapeless everywhere; Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind, Stigmatical in making, worse in mind.— Shakespeare — Comedy of Errors. Act IV. Sc. 2. L. 19.
He wants wit that wants resolved will.— Shakespeare — Two Gentlemen of Verona. Act II. Sc. 6. L. 12.
His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles; His love sincere, his thoughts immaculate; * * * * * * His heart as far from fraud as heaven from earth.— Shakespeare — Two Gentlemen of Verona. Act II. Sc. 7. L. 75.
How this grace Speaks his own standing! what a mental power This eye shoots forth! How big imagination Moves in this lip! to the dumbness of the gesture One might interpret.— Shakespeare — Timon of Athens. Act I. Sc. 1. L. 30.
I am no proud Jack, like Falstaff; but a Corinthian, a lad of mettle, a good boy.— Shakespeare — Henry IV. Pt. I. Act II. Sc. 4. L. 12.
I do profess to be no less than I seem; to serve him truly that will put me in trust; to love him that is honest; to converse with him that is wise, and says little; to fear judgment; to fight when I cannot choose; and to eat no fish.— Shakespeare — S. King Lear. Act I. Sc. 4. L. 14.
I grant him bloody, Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful, Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin That has a name.— Shakespeare — Macbeth. Act IV. Sc. 3. L. 57.
I know him a notorious liar, Think him a great way fool, solely a coward; Yet these fix'd evils sit so fit in him, That they take place, when virtue's steely bones Look bleak i' the cold wind.— Shakespeare — All's Well That Ends Well. Act I. Sc. 1. L. 111
Long is it since I saw him, But time hath nothing blur'd those lines of favour Which then he wore.— Shakespeare — Cymbeline. Act IV. Sc. 2. L. 104.
Look, as I blow this feather from my face, And as the air blows it to me again, Obeying with my wind when I do blow, And yielding to another when it blows, Commanded always by the greater gust; Such is the lightness of you common men.— Shakespeare — Henry VI. Pt. III. Act III. Sc. 1. L. 85.
Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues We write in water.— Shakespeare — Henry VIII. Act IV. Sc. 2. L. 46.
Nature hath fram'd strange fellows in her time: Some that will evermore peep through their eyes, And laugh, like parrots, at a bagpiper: And other of such vinegar aspect That they'll not show their teeth in way of smile, Though Nestor swear the jest be laughable. Merchant of Venice. Act 1. Sc. 1. L. 51. Now do I play the touch, To try if thou be current gold indeed.— Shakespeare — Richard III. Act IV. Sc. 2. L. 9.
O do not slander him, for he is kind; Right As snow in harvest. Richard III. Act 1. Sc. 4. L. 247. O, he sits high in all the people's hearts: And that which would appear offence in us. His countenance, like richest alchemy, Will change to virtue and to worthiness. Julius Cæsar. Act 1. Sc. 3. L. 157. There is a kind of character in thy life, That to the observer doth thy history Fully unfold.— Shakespeare — Measure for Measure. Act I. Sc. 1. L. 28.
There's neither honesty, manhood, nor good fellowship in thee.— Shakespeare — Henry IV. Pt. I. Act I. Sc. 2. L. 154.
The trick of singularity.— Shakespeare — Twelfth Night. Act II. Sc. 5. L. 164.
Thou art most rich, being poor; Most choice, forsaken; and most lov'd, despis'd! Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon :— Shakespeare — King Lear. Act I. Sc. 1. L. 252.
Though I am not splenitive and rash, Yet have I something in me dangerous.— Shakespeare — Hamlet. Act V. Sc. 1. L. 285.
What a frosty-spirited rogue is this!— Shakespeare — Henry IV. Pt. I. Act II. Sc. 3. L. 21.
What thou wouldst highly, That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false, And yet wouldst wrongly win. n. Macbeth. Act 1. Sc. 5. L. 21. When he is best, he is a little worse than a man, and when he is worst, he is little better than a beast.— Shakespeare — Merchant of Venice. Act I. Sc. 2. L. 94.
Why, now I see there's mettle in thee, and even from this instant do build on thee a better opinion than ever before.— Shakespeare — Othello. Act IV. Sc. 2. L. 205.
You are thought here to be the most senseless and fit man for the constable of the watch; therefore bear you the lantern.— Shakespeare — Much Ado About Nothing. Act III. Sc. 3. L. 20.
I'm called away by particular business. But I leave my character behind me.— SHERIDAN — School for Scandal. Act II. Sc. 2.
Lax in their gaiters, laxer in their gait.— S. JAMES SMITH — The Theatre.
Daniel Webster struck me much like a steam engine in trousers.— SYDNEY SMITH — Lady Holland's
/ Memoir. Vol. I. P. 267. A bold bad man!— SPENSER — Faerie Queene. Bk. I. Canto I. St. 37.
Worth, courage, honor, these indeed Your sustenance and birthright are.— E. C. STEDMAN — Beyond the Portals. Pt. 10.
Yet though her mien carries much more invitation than command, to behold her is an immediate check to loose behaviour; and to love her is a liberal education.— STEELE — Tatler. No. 49.
High characters (cries one), and he would see Things that ne'er were, nor are, nor e'er will be.— SIR JOHN SUCKLING — The Goblin's
Epilogue. The true greatness of nations is in those qualities which constitute the greatness of the individual.— CHARLES SUMNER — Oration on the True
Grandeur of Nations With every man there are good spirits and evil spirits; by good spirits, man has conjunction with heaven, and by evil spirits with hell.— SWEDENBORG — Heaven and Hell.
Par. 292. His own character is the arbiter of every one's fortune.— PUBLIUS SYRUS — Maxims. 286.
Fame is what you have taken, Character's what you give; When to this truth you waken, Then you begin to live. C.— BAYARD TAYLOR — Improvisations. St. XI.
The hearts that dare are quick to feel; The hands that wound are soft to heal.— BAYARD TAYLOR — Soldiers of Peace.
Such souls, Whose sudden visitations daze the world, Vanish like lightning, but they leave behind A voice that in the distance far away Wakens the slumbering ages.— HENRY TAYLOR — Philip Van Artevelde. Pt. I. Act I. Sc. 7.
He makes no friend who never made a foe.— TENNYSON — Idylls of the King. Launcelot and Elaine. L. 1109.
His honor rooted in dishonor stood, And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.— TENNYSON — Idylls of the King. Launcelot and Elaine. L. 885.
She with all the charm of woman, She with all the breadth of man.— TENNYSON — Locksley Hall Sixty Years After. L. 48.
None but himself can be his parallel.— LEWIS THEOBALD — The Double
Falsehood. Whoe'er amidst the sons Of reason, valor, liberty and virtue, Displays distinguished merit, is a noble Of Nature's own creating.— THOMSON — Coriolanus. Act III. Sc. 3.
Just men, by whom impartial laws were given, And saints, who taught and led the way to heaven!— TICKELL — On the Death of Mr. Addison. L. 41.
Nor e'er was to the bowers of bliss conveyed A fairer spirit, or more welcome shade.— TICKELL — On the Death of Mr. Addison. L. 45.
Though lone the way as that already trod, Cling to thine own integrity and God!— H. T. TUCKERMAN — Sonnet. To One
I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an "Honest Man."— GEORGE WASHINGTON — Moral Maxims.
Lord of the golden tongue and smiting eyes; Great out of season and untimely wise: A man whose virtue, genius, grandeur, worth, Wrought deadlier ill than ages can undo.— WM. WATSON — The Political Luminary.
Charity and personal force are the only investments worth anything.— WALT WHITMAN — Leaves of Grass.
Manhattan's Streets I Sauntered, Pondering. St. 6. Formed on the good old plan, A true and brave and downright honest man! He blew no trumpet in the market-place, Nor in the church with hypocritic face Supplied with cant the lack of Christian grace; Loathing pretence, he did with cheerful will What others talked of while their hands were still.— WHITTIER — Daniel Neall. II.
And through the heat of conflict keeps the law In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw.— WORDSWORTH — Character of a Happy Warrior. L. 53.
But who, if he be called upon to face Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined Great issues, good or bad for humankind, Is happy as a lover. S.— WORDSWORTH — Character of a Happy Warrior. L. 48.
One that would peep and botanize Upon his mother's grave.— WORDSWORTH — A Poet's Epitaph. St. 5.
The reason firm, the temperate will, Endurance, foresight, strength and skill.— WORDSWORTH — She was a Phantom of
Delight. Whom neither shape of danger can dismay, Nor thought of tender happiness betray.— WORDSWORTH — Character of a Happy Warrior. L. 72.
The man that makes a character, makes foes.— YOUNG — Epistles to Mr. Pope. Ep. 1. L. 28.
The man who consecrates his hours By vig'rous effort and an honest aim, At once he draws the sting of life and death; He walks with nature and her paths are peace.— YOUNG — Night Thoughts. Night II. L. 187.
Nihil est periculosius in hominibus mutatâ subito fortunâ. Nothing is more dangerous to men than a sudden change of fortune.— QUINTILIAN — De Institutione Oratoria.
Suus quoque attributus est error: Sed non videmus, manticæ quid in tergo est. Every one has his faults: but we do not see the wallet on our own backs.— CATULLUS — Carmina. XXII. 20.
Importunitas autem, et inhumanitas omni ætati molesta est. But a perverse temper and fretful disposition make any state of life unhappy.— CICERO — De Senectute. III.
Minime sibi quisque notus est, et difficillime de se quisque sentit. Every one is least known to himself, and it is very difficult for a man to know himself.— CICERO — De Oratore. III. 9.
Ut ignis in aquam conjectus, continuo restinguitur et refrigeratur, sic refervens falsum crimen in purissimam et castissimam vitam collatum, statim concidit et extinguitur. As fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also a false accusation when brought against a man of the purest and holiest character, boils over and is at once dissipated, and vanishes.— CICERO — Oratio Pro Quinto Roscio
Comœdo. VI. Argillâ quidvis imitaberis udâ. Thou canst mould him into any shape like soft clay.— HORACE — Epistolæ. II. 2. 8.
Falsus honor juvat et mendax infamia terret, Quem nisi mendosum et mendacem? Whom does false honor aid, and calumny deter, but the vicious and the liar?— HORACE — Epistolæ. I. 16. 39.
Integer vitæ scelerisque purus Non eget Mauri jaculis neque arcu. The man who is pure in life and free from guilt, needs not the aid of Moorish bows and darts.— HORACE — Carmina. I. 22. 1.
Paullum sepultæ distat inertiæ Celata virtus. Excellence when concealed, differs but little from buried worthlessness.— HORACE — Carmina. IV. 9. 29.
Servetur ad imum Qualis ab incepto processerit, et sibi constet. Let the character as it began be preserved to the last; and let it be consistent with itself. C.— HORACE — Ars Poetica. CXXVI.
Famæ ac fidei damna majora sunt quam quæ æstimari possunt. than can be estimated.— LIVY — Annales. III. 72.
Video meliora proboque, Deteriora sequor. I see and approve better things, I follow the worse.— OVID — Metamorphoses. VII. 20.
Dixi omnia, quum hominem nominavi. After I have named the man, I need say no more. PLINY the Younger-Epistolæ. IV. 22. Optimum et emendatissimum existimo, qui ceteris ita ignoscit, tanquam ipse quotidie peccet; ita peccatis abstinet, tanquam memini ignoscat. The highest of characters, in my estimation, is his, who is as ready to pardon the moral errors of mankind, as if he were every day guilty of some himself; and at the same time as cautious of committing a fault as if he never forgave one. PLINY the Younger-Epistolæ. VIII. 22. Tecum habita, et nôris quam sit tibi curta supellex. Retire within thyself, and thou will discover how small a stock is there. PERSIUS. Satiræ. IV. 52. Udum et molle lutum es: nunc, nunc properandus et acri Fingendus sine fine rotâ. Thou art moist and soft clay; thou must instantly be shaped by the glowing wheel.— PERSIUS — Satiræ. III. 23.
Nè spegner può per star nell'acqua il foco; Nè può stato mutar per mutar loco. Such fire was not by water to be drown'd, Nor he his nature changed by changing ground.— ARIOSTO — Orlando Furioso. XXVIII.
Au demeurant, le meilleur fils du monde. In other respects the best fellow in the world.— CLEMENT MAROT — Letter to Francis I.
Cet animal est tres méchant; Quand on l'attaque il se défend. This animal is very malicious; when at tacked it defends itself. From a song, La Ménagerie. Chevalier sans peur et sans reproche. Knight without fear and without reproach. Applied to CHEVALIER BAYARD. Coups de fourches ni d'étrivières, Ne lui font changer de manières. Neither blows from pitchfork, nor from the lash, can make him change his ways.— LA FONTAINE — Fables. II. 18.
Il embellit tout ce qu'il touche, He adorns all that he touches.— FÉNÉLON — Lettre sur les Occupations
de l'Académie Française. Sect. 4. Je ne puis rien nommer si ce n'est par son nom; J'appelle un chat un chat, et Rollet un fripon. I can call nothing by name if that is not his name. I call a cat a cat, and Rollet a rogue.— BOILEAU — Satires. I. 51.
La physionomie n'est pas une règle qui nous soit donnée pour juger des hommes: elle nous peut servir de conjecture. Physiognomy is not a guide that has been given us by which to judge of the character of men: it may only serve us for conjecture.— LA BRUYÈRE — Les Caractères. XII.
Le moi est haïssable. Egoism is hateful.— PASCAL — Pensées Diverses.
१. Les hommes, fripons en détail, sont en gros de très-honnêtes gens. Men, who are rogues individually, are in the mass very honorable people.— MONTESQUIEU — De l'Esprit. XXV.
C. 2. Les maximes des hommes décèlent leur cœur. The maxims of men reveal their characters. a. CVII. Messieurs, nous avons un maître, ce jeune homme fait tout, peut tout, et veut tout. Gentlemen, we have a master; this young man does everything, can do everything and will do everything. Attributed to SIEYÈS, who speaks of