Charles Caleb Colton Quotes

I think the way we react to things is a big indicator of our character and what type of person we are.

To test a modest man's modesty do not investigate if he ignores applause, find out if he abides criticism.

I am, as a character, at times, a little overbearing. I recognize that.

What I do is sometimes - at least in Germany - met with wounding campaigns. I always face the question: should I grow myself a thick skin and ignore it, or should I let myself be wounded? I've decided to be wounded, since, if I grew a thick skin, there are other things I wouldn't feel any more.

When you are angry or frustrated, what comes out? Whatever it is, it's a good indication of what you're made of.

A man with a so-called character is often a simple piece of mechanism; he has often only one point of view for the extremely complicated relationships of life.

I don't care if people I admire criticize me because their opinion is valuable to me.

I really admire a woman for her intelligence, her personality. Beauty is not enough.

I always say, if you want to judge a person, see what he/she laughs at.

Remember that when criticism is difficult to accept, there is probably some truth to it.

If you feel compelled to respond every time you're criticized it reveals just how much you've built your identity on being right.

Critisism is just reflection of the person that speaking

I'm very interested in people, so if a character happens to be real, there's that much more to look at.

In describing someone's character, I reveal my own.

Temperament is the thermometer of character.

I would take it to heart if people were mad about something my character did.

One of the troubles of our times is that we are all, I think, precocious as personalities and backward as characters.

I wouldn't say that I have overcome opposition so much as I have tried to understand it. The lash of judgment carries a wounding sting, and there's a deeply instinctual tendency to want to respond in kind. I am not proud that my thoughts were blackened with vile opinions about the nature of those who were attacking me.

We should be slower to think that the man at his worst is the real man, and certain that the better we are ourselves the less likely is he to be at his worst in our company. Every time he talks away his own character before us he is signifying contempt for ours.

The more time we spend considering the shortcomings of others, the smaller a person we become.

Why wouldn't you write to escape yourself as much as you might write to express yourself? It's far more interesting to write about others.

The place to begin building any relationship is inside ourselves, inside our circle of influence, our own character.

Although genius always commands admiration, character most secures respect. The former is more the product of the brain, the latter of heart-power; and in the long run it is the heart that rules in life.

There would be very little to dislike in other people if we refused to bring to them all of our own judgements and petty grievances.

People don't just get upset. They contribute to their upsetness. They always have the power to think, and to think about their thinking, and to think about thinking about their thinking, which the goddamn dolphin, as far as we know, can't do. Therefore they have much greater ability to change themselves than any other animal has.