Trials, temptations, disappointments -- all these help instead of hinder, if one uses them rightly. They not only test the read more

Trials, temptations, disappointments -- all these help instead of hinder, if one uses them rightly. They not only test the fiber of a character, but strengthen it. Every conquered temptation represents a new fund of moral energy. Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.

Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.

Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.

Instead of saying that man is the creature of circumstance, it would be nearer the mark to say that man read more

Instead of saying that man is the creature of circumstance, it would be nearer the mark to say that man is the architect of circumstance. It is character which builds an existence out of circumstance. From the same materials one man builds palaces, another hovels; one warehouses, another villas; bricks and mortar are mortar and bricks until the architect can make them something else.

Only the mediocre are always at their best!

Only the mediocre are always at their best!

Many men are mere warehouses full of merchandise--the head, the
heart, are stuffed with goods. . . . There read more

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.

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree read more

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents.

A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents.

In brief, I don't stick to declare, Father Dick,
So they call him for short, is a regular brick;
read more

In brief, I don't stick to declare, Father Dick,
So they call him for short, is a regular brick;
A metaphor taken--I have not the page aright--
From an ethical work by the Stagyrite.

People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.

People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.