Browse 8 quotations connecting William George Jordan with Character, with meanings, source notes and related themes.
Sources represented here include The Power of Truth: Individual Problems and Possibilities, Self-Control, Its Kingship and Majesty.
“It is what a man makes of himself that counts.”
Jordan places developed character and chosen conduct above passive labels or circumstances when judging what a person can become.
Self-Control, Its Kingship and Majesty, “The Kingship of Self-Control.” Project Gutenberg #51469. The line belongs to late-nineteenth-century self-mastery literature and is not evidence that circumstance is irrelevant.
“His honesty is not policy.”
Honesty is distinguished from strategy: a person of character tells the truth because it is right, not merely because truthfulness happens to be advantageous.
The Power of Truth, opening chapter, Project Gutenberg #56020; Jordan rejects the phrase “honesty is the best policy” as too transactional.
“Truth is the rock foundation of every great character.”
Jordan makes truthfulness foundational to character, treating honest conduct as structural rather than as a convenient tactic used only when it pays.
The Power of Truth, opening chapter, Project Gutenberg #56020; Jordan introduces truth as the foundation of character.
“If we know the truth and do not live it, our life is—a lie.”
Knowing what is right is not enough in Jordan’s framework; conduct that contradicts acknowledged truth creates a gap between belief and lived character.
The Power of Truth, opening chapter, Project Gutenberg #56020; the dash is retained from the represented public-domain text.
“Lying is the sacrifice of honor to create a wrong impression.”
The sentence defines lying through intended deception: honor is traded away in order to make another person believe something the speaker knows is false.
The Power of Truth, opening chapter, Project Gutenberg #56020; Jordan contrasts truthful dealing with deliberately creating a false impression.
“What he says has the ring of sincerity, the hallmark of pure gold.”
Sincerity is presented as a recognizable quality of speech that grows from consistency between what a person knows, believes and chooses to say.
The Power of Truth, opening chapter, Project Gutenberg #56020; the “pure gold” comparison belongs to Jordan’s description of sincere speech.
“Truth is the heart’s loyalty to abstract right, made manifest in concrete instances.”
Jordan connects principle with practice: loyalty to truth becomes meaningful only when it appears in the specific choices and statements of ordinary life.
The Power of Truth, opening chapter, Project Gutenberg #56020; the sentence summarizes Jordan’s conduct-of-life definition of truth.
“Man never rises to the dignity of true living until he has the courage that dares to face ingratitude calmly, and to pursue his course unchanged when his good works meet with thanklessness or disdain.”
Jordan separates the worth of principled action from the applause it receives, arguing that worthwhile conduct sometimes has to continue without gratitude or recognition.
The Power of Truth, “The Courage to Face Ingratitude.” Project Gutenberg #56020; first published August 1902. Jordan’s standard is moral perseverance, not indifference to all criticism.
