Category: “If you wish to know what a person is…”

If you wish to know what a person is, place him in authority.

-Yugoslav proverb

One can no more judge a [person] by the actions of an hour than the climate of a country by the temperature of a day.

-J. Petit-Senn

These quotations are about two kinds of unpleasant people. You probably have at least one of each in your life. If you’re “lucky”, you know someone who could be described by both of these sayings.

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One is not superior simply because one sees the world as odious.

-Chteaubriand

Those who imagine the world is against them have usually conspired to make it true.

-Sydney J. Harris

To know a [person], observe how he wins his object, rather than how he loses it; for when we fail, our pride supports us; when we succeed, it betrays us.

-Charles Caleb Colton

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Our society claims to value good sportsmanship, especially graceful losing. Should more attention be given to graceful winning instead? Describe some examples of unseemly winning, either from your own experience or as a spectator of sports or other competitions. What did the winner’s behavior reveal about him or her? How might you persuade the person to change?

The [person] who is always having… feelings hurt is about as pleasant a companion as a pebble in the shoe.

-Elbert Hubbard

A wrongdoer is often a [person] who has left something undone, not always he that has done something.

-Marcus Aurelius

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Another way of saying this is “There are sins of omisson and sins of commission.” Explain an example of the wrong done by someone who neglected or chose not to do something. Can “not doing” be as harmful as “doing”? Is it easier for “non-doers” to excuse themselves than “doers”? What kinds of personalities might choose leaving someting undone over doing something wrong?

The measure of a [person’s] real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

-Macauley

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Cynics have said that what passes for morality in most people is really coeardice-the fear of getting caught. Do you think this is a fair estimation of the average person? Support your answer.

“Realistic people” who pursue “practical aims” are rarely as realistic, in the long run of life, as the dreamers who pursue their dreams.

-Hans Selye