Character Reputation Quotes & Sayings

Even those who, like me, believe that Roe v. Wade and the decisions elaborating on reproductive rights were constitutionally correct must recognize that, for many on the right, the sudden and relatively sloppily reasoned character of the abortion rulings ... did real damage to the Court's reputation as a relatively neutral arbiter of legal disputes. — Laurence Tribe

Character is much easier kept than recovered. — Thomas Paine

Reputation is made in a moment; Character is built over a lifetime. — Elizabeth George

She had always wanted to do every thing, and had made more progress in both drawing and music than many might have done with so little labour as she ever would submit to ... She was not much deceived as to her own skill either as an artist or a musician, but she was not unwilling to have others deceived, or sorry to know her reputation for accomplishment often higher than it deserved. — Jane Austen

You have no power over your past,
but you do over your present.
You have no power over your history,
but you do over your future.
You have no power over your fortune,
but you do over your actions.
You have no power over your reputation,
but you do over your character.
You have no power over destiny,
but you do over yourself.
You have no power over anyone,
but you do over your world. — Matshona Dhliwayo

And I have been able to establish this sort of decent reputation as being a decent character actor. — Vincent D'Onofrio

Reputation is what you have when you come to a new community; character is what you have when you go away. — William Davis

If you have to choose between character and reputation. Choose character every single time. Then you can be authentic and straight. Nothing to lose. — Parashar Pandya

Reputation is what men say about you on your tombstone;
Character is what the angels say about you before the throne of God — William Hersey Davis

It is better to be alone than in bad company. — George Washington

What's in a name? The accumulation of reputations from all who've owned it before you. — Richelle E. Goodrich

Be the kind of person others admire, can count on, trust, and enjoy spending time with. After you have developed that reputation, people will start to ask you what you do and you will be amazed at how many people will want to work with you. You will attract others based on your character. — Larry Winget

Character is made by what you stand for;reputation by what you fall for. — Robert Quillen

Character is what you are. Reputation is what people think you are. — Ashwin Sanghi

A vice sanctioned by the general opinion is merely a vice. The evil terminates in itself. A vice condemned by the general opinion produces a pernicious effect on the whole character. The former is a local malady; the latter, constitutional taint. When the reputation of the offender is lost, he too often flings the remainder of his virtue after it in despair. — Thomas B. Macaulay

If our reputation rests on the decisions we make, then Abishag has impeccable taste. If fragrance is worn to make a personal statement, then the unchosen Abishag has publicly proclaimed her allegiance. She has put on the scent of her lord, for her lord. She belongs to him. Every facet of her character proclaims rejection of other, so-called, 'shepherds.' Whether he chooses her, or not, she has chosen him.
pg 36 — Michael Ben Zehabe

Such public shaming is rampant and sometimes appropriate, but unfortunately, in recent years, shaming has morphed into coordinated reputation murders, and anyone who is slightly insensitive or not PC enough can be led to a public character lynching without due process. — Gudjon Bergmann

Worry more about your character than your reputation. Character is what you are, reputation merely what others think you are. — John Wooden

Ever since I became a Muslim, I've had to deal with attempts to damage my reputation and countless insinuations seeking to cast doubt on my character and trying to connect me to causes which I do not subscribe to. — Cat Stevens

Your reputation has no duplicate. You are one till the end of time. Once it is damaged, a fresh personality cannot spring from the old one. — Michael Bassey Johnson

Foch never for a moment thought about the easy ways of bringing his name before the public and the political world, or even about acquiring a reputation for military insight among the chiefs of the French army. He never posed as a central figure at public functions; he was never interviewed by the press; he made no use of the professional reviews to bring his name before military readers. Ile never published a line until his chiefs suggested the publication of his lectures at the Staff College. From the day when he received his first commission he was a hard-working student of war, patiently preparing himself to do his duty when the opportunity came, and meanwhile content to put all his energies into the work assigned to him. Success in the career of arms is not always associated with high personal character or with this modest pursuit of duty for its own sake. — Andrew Hilliard Atteridge

To enjoy a good reputation, give publicly, and steal privately. — Josh Billings

Making 'Birdsong,' on the one hand you have how prestigious it is and the reputation of the book, which is something that's an extraordinary piece of work. Sebastian Faulkes is a genius. So you feel that responsibility when you're portraying that character that he's imagined and millions of readers have pictured. — Eddie Redmayne

Character: The ability to carry out a worthy decision after the emotion of making that decision has passed. Character simply stated is doing what you said you were going to do. If you develop a reputation for that, do you have any idea the effect that has on self-perception? Its immense, just immense. The Savior was a man of character. He did everything he said he was going to do. — Hyrum W. Smith

We are fonder of visiting our friends in health than in sickness. We judge less favorably of their characters when any misfortune happens to them; and a lucky hit, either in business or reputation, improves even their personal appearance in our eyes. — William Hazlitt

Reputation is what people expect us to do next. It's their expectation of the quality and character of the next thing we produce or say or do.
We control our actions (even when it feels like we don't) and our actions over time (especially when we think no one is looking) earn our reputation. — Seth Godin

Your reputation is what people say about you. Your character is what God and your wife know about you. — Billy Sunday

Reputation shows who people think you are. Character shows who you really are. — Craig Groeschel

Character is like a tree and reputation its shadow. The shadow is what we think it is and the tree is the real thing. — Abraham Lincoln

If the people should elect, they will never fail to prefer some man of distinguished character, or services; some man, if he might so speak of continental reputation. — Gouverneur Morris

A man's reputation is not in his own keeping, but lies at the mercy of the profligacy of others. Calumny requires no proof. The throwing out [of] malicious imputations against any character leaves a stain, which no after-refutation can wipe out. To create an unfavorable impression, it is not necessary that certain things should be true, but that they have been said. The imagination is of so delicate a texture that even words wound it. — William Hazlitt

Your reputation is that which people think you are; your character is that which you are. — Napoleon Hill

A reputation for good judgment, for fair dealing, for truth, and for rectitude, is itself a fortune. — Henry Ward Beecher

Reputation is what others perceive you as being, and their opinion may be right or wrong. Character, however, is what you really are, and nobody truly knows that but you. But you are what matters most. — John Wooden

If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself. — D.L. Moody

He had acquired a reputation for possessing a noble character, and even for being something of a hero - or, at least, in the assessment of one contemporary commentator, one of those parties who are able to fulfil the public need in the event of genuine heroes being absent or, for any reason, unpalatable. — K.J. Bishop

In a new country a man must possess at least three virtues - honesty, courage and generosity. In cultivated society, cultivation is often more important than soil. A well-executed counterfeit passes more readily than a blurred genuine. It is necessary only to observe the unwritten laws of society - to be honest enough to keep out of prison, and generous enough to subscribe in public - where the subscription can be defended as an investment. In a new country, character is essential; in the old, reputation is sufficient. In the new, they find what a man really is; in the old, he generally passes for what he resembles. People separated only by distance are much nearer together, than those divided by the walls of caste. — Robert G. Ingersoll

Attend well to your character, and your reputation will look out for itself. — Napoleon Hill

The great difficulty is first to win a reputation; the next to keep it while you live; and the next to preserve it after you die, when affection and interest are over, and nothing but sterling excellence can preserve your name. Never suffer youth to be an excuse for inadequacy, nor age and fame to be an excuse for indolence. — Benjamin Haydon

True honour is an attachment to honest and beneficent principles, and a good reputation; and prompts a man to do good to others, and indeed to all men, at his own cost, pains, or peril. False honour is a pretence to this character, but does things that destroy it: And the abuse of honour is called honour, by those who from that good word borrow credit to act basely, rashly, or foolishly. — Thomas Gordon

Great leaders have no need for reputation. Reputation is what you are in public. Character is who you are in private. — Myles Munroe

Some think the only way to get even, to get attention or advantage, or to win is to bash people. This kind of behavior is never appropriate. Oftentimes character and reputation and almost always self-esteem are destroyed under the hammer of this vicious practice. — Marvin J. Ashton

Your reputation is in the hands of others. That's what the reputation is. You can't control that. The only thing you can control is your character. — Wayne W. Dyer

With this new stupid Supreme Court ruling, secret money can come in on an unlimited level from corporations. Nobody knows where it comes from. That distorts the political situation in our country tremendously. Most of that money is spent on negative advertising that is tearing down the character and reputation of your opponent, and it works, although most American people say, "We don't like negative advertising," it works. — Jimmy Carter

A strong reputation is like a good bonfire. When you have one kindled it's easy to keep the flame burning, even if someone comes along and tries to piss on it. But if you fall asleep and neglect it ... You'll wake up with ashes. — Zachary Taylor

I once read in a Bible commentary that the word "Christian" means "little Christs." What an honor to share Christ's name! We can be bold to call ourselves Christians and bear the stamp of his character and reputation. When people find out the you are a Christian, they should already have an idea of who you are and what you are like simply because you bear such a precious name. — Joni Eareckson Tada

Among those whose reputation is exhausted in a short time by its own luxuriance are the writers who take advantage of present incidents or characters which strongly interest the passions, and engage universal attention. It is not difficult to obtain readers, when we discuss a question which every one is desirous to understand, which is debated in every assembly, and has divided the nation into parties; or when we display the faults or virtues of him whose public conduct has made almost every man his enemy or his friend. — Samuel Johnson

A tale of scandal is as fatal to the credit of a prudent lady as a fever is generally to those of the strongest constitutions. But there is a sort of puny, sickly reputation, that is always ailing, yet will wither the robuster characters of a hundred prudes. — Richard Brinsley Sheridan

What we do in public determines our reputation; what we do in private determines our character. — Max Anders

Reputation is what others think of us; character is what we know of us. When you spend a lot of energy trying to repair a few moments of time that destroyed the view others once had of you, or a judgment someone made of you, true or not, then you must ask yourself, why take on the problem when it is really them? — Tambre Bryant

The character of the person would outweigh the color of his skin and the reputation of his heritage. — R.A. Salvatore

If you want to discover the true character of a person, you have only to observe what they are passionate about. — Shannon L. Alder

The most important thing for a young man is to establish a credit ... a reputation, character. — John D. Rockefeller

Have you ever stopped to think that maybe you were wrong? Maybe, you only saw your point of view and you never once put yourself in the other person's shoes. Maybe, walking away from the senseless drama and spiteful criticism isn't the best thing to do. Maybe, for just once in your life you could wear another person's confusion, pain or misunderstanding. Maybe, your future doesn't require explaining yourself or offering an explanation for your indifference, but your character and reputation does. What if one day you find out that you didn't have all the information you thought you did? What if you find out that your presence was needed for healing? What if you only knew half of it and the other half was just your fear and anger translating everything you experienced? What if you were wrong? What if the same thing happened to you? — Shannon L. Alder

Ethics and Attitude Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Character is what you really are. Reputation is what people say you are. Character is more important. — John Wooden

Modernism has a reputation for being a forbidding phenomenon: its visual arts disconcertingly non-representational, its literary efforts devoid of the consolations of plot and character - even its films, it's argued, fall well short of that true desideratum: entertainment. — Will Self

You can't repair character flaws with positive social media posts — Bernard Kelvin Clive

Many a man's reputation would not know his character if they met on the street. — Elbert Hubbard

The only time you realize you have a reputation is when you're not living up to it. — Jose Iturbi

think my father came to believe long ago what Rhett Butler told Scarlett: reputation is something people with character can do without. Character and character — Sally Mann

FROM my grandfather Verus I learned good morals and the government of my temper. From the reputation and remembrance of my father, modesty and a manly character. From my mother, piety and beneficence, and abstinence, not only from evil deeds, but even from evil thoughts; and further, simplicity in my way of living, far removed from the habits of the rich. From — Marcus Aurelius

Your NAME and your REPUTATION is ALL that you have, so GUARD them. They are worth more than money or gold. — L. Michelle

Reputation is a reward, to be sure, but it is really the beginning, not the end of endeavor. It should not be the signal for a let-down, but rather, a reminder that the standards which won recognition can never again be lowered. From him who gives much - much is forever after expected. — Alvan Macauley

Most writers deserve the reputation posterity has bestowed upon them: You can't for long conceal the toxic spots on your character - Philip Larkin is Exhibit A - nor can you conceal your dignity, your humanism, your regard for veracity and freedom. — William Giraldi

A man is what he is, not what men say he is. His character no man can touch. His character is what he is before his God and his Judge; and only himself can damage that. His reputation is what men say he is. That can be damaged; but reputation is for time, character is for eternity. — John Bartholomew Gough

I would rather suffer with truth than celebrate with lies. — Orrin Woodward

Reputation is what others think you are; character is what God knows you are. — Anonymous

Worry about your character, not your reputation. Your character is who you are, and your reputetion is who people think you re. — John Wooden

A man's character is the reality of himself; his reputation, the opinion others have formed about him; character resides in him, reputation in other people; that is the substance, this is the shadow. — Henry Ward Beecher

Don't destroy yourself by allowing negative people add gibberish and debris to your character, reputation, and aspirations. Keep all dreams alive but discreet, so that those with unhealthy tongues won't have any other option than to infest themselves with their own diseases. — Michael Bassey

Nothing deflates so fast as a punctured reputation. — Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar

Reputation is what people think we are; character is what God and the holy angels know we are. — Warren W. Wiersbe

The world may take your reputation from you, but it cannot take your character. — Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins

In 77 BC, Cicero used the evidence of a client's well-kept ledger to argue in court for his good character and trustworthiness, saying, 'day-books last for a month, ledgers for ever . . . day-books embrace the memory of a moment, ledgers attest the good faith and conscientiousness which ensure a man's reputation for all time'. — Jane Gleeson-White

As events developed, the debate about jobs and energy extraction in general became more divisive. Those at one extreme embraced the industry as an expression of old-fashioned free enterprise. It offered work that built character and brought deserving rewards for those with initiative, whether they be roughnecks working twelve-hour shifts, investors staking their capital, or researchers staking their reputation on the next big discovery. At the other end of the spectrum were those who saw the industry as a relic of grandfather clauses and cronyism that dated to a period of predatory exploitation, when fantastical deals were pitched by door-to-door peddlers, manufacturing waste was buried in lagoons on private property, and unions were nonexistent. The middle ground was occupied by an untold number of consumers used to cheap plentiful energy, and property owners, who had their worries but also were able to calculate how much a mineral rights lease might be worth. — Tom Wilber

False modesty is the masterpiece of vanity: showing the vain man in such an illusory light that he appears in the reputation of the virtue quite opposite to the vice which constitutes his real character; it is a deceit. — Jean De La Bruyere

Develop your character; there is no need to be concerned about reputation. — Debasish Mridha

There is a very great difference - is there not? - between the temporal and the eternal judgments, a very great difference between a man's reputation and a man's character, for reputation is what men think and say of us, while character is what God and the angels know of us. — Price Collier

Affronts to her reputation pierced her to the heart, though I couldn't understand why, since she had very little character left to defend. — Melika Dannese Lux

The judge's authority depends upon the assumption that he speaks with the mouth of others. That is to say, the momentum of his utterances must be greater than any which his personal reputation and character can command, if it is to do the work assigned to it if it is to stand against the passionate resentments arising out of the interests he must frustrate for while a judge must discover some composition with the dominant trends of his times, he must preserve his authority by cloaking himself in the majesty of an overshadowing past. — Learned Hand

A good reputation may be worth millions,
but a good character is worth all the riches of the world. — Matshona Dhliwayo

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. — John Wooden

Reputation is seeming; character is being. Reputation is manufactured; character is grown. Reputation is your photograph; There is a vast difference between character and reputation. Reputation is what men think we are; character is what God knows us to be. Reputation is seeming; character is being. Reputation is the breath of men; character is the inbreathing of the eternal God. One may for a time have a good reputation and a bad character, or the reverse ; but not for long. — Robert Stuart MacArthur

Lack of credibility slays your character — Bernard Kelvin Clive

Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us. — Thomas Paine

Too often character assassination has replaced debate in principle here in Washington. Destroy someone's reputation, and you don't have to talk about what he stands for. — Ronald Reagan

Character lives in a man, reputation outside of him. — J.G. Holland

We build character in order for us to withstand the rigors of combat and resist the temptations to compromise our principles in peacetime. We must build character in peacetime because there is no time in war. Character is the most important quality you can find in any person, but especially in a soldier. It is the foundation that will get anybody through anything he may encounter. Reputation is what people think you are; character is what you are- that is the staying power. — Glen E. Morrell

A man's reputation is the opinion people have of him; his character is what he really is. — Jack Miner

If you pay too much attention to your reputation, you could lose your character. — Michael Josephson

When we justify a flaw we are actually inventing a new one. When a woman neglects developing her own character, she not only chisels away her own reputation, but the reputation of everyone in her household.
pg 48 — Michael Ben Zehabe

The thing that must be preserved in all situations whatever is the reputation of one's character. — Madame De Stael

It is difficult to make a reputation, but is even more difficult seriously to mar a reputation once properly made
so faithful is the public. — Arnold Bennett

Your reputation is what others think of you; your character is what you truly are. Reputations can be manipulated; character can only be developed and maintained. — Bohdi Sanders

Lincoln described character is a tree and reputation as its shadow. The tree will always be what it is but the shadow we see depends on where we stand and the angle of the light. — Michael Josephson

Some of us are more concerned with our reputation than our character. The latter takes care of the former. — LeCrae

She had gained a reputation for beauty, and (which is often another thing) was beautiful. — Charles Dickens

Never get a reputation for a small perfection if you are trying for fame in a loftier area. The world can only judge by generals, and it sees that those who pay considerable attention to minutiae seldom have their minds occupied with great things. — Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton

Be more interested in character than reputation — John Wooden

The murderer only takes the life of the parent and leaves his character as a goodly heritage to his children, whilst the slanderer takes away his goodly reputation and leaves him a living monument to his children's disgrace. — Andrew Jackson