“It must, however, be admitted, that the hard circumstances form the strong character, as the cold climes of the north nurture a race of men, whose activity and energies leave those of the south far behind. Hence it is that the characters of women are more uniform than men; they are rarely placed in circumstances to call forth the latent powers of the mind.”

Literary Remains

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It must, however, be admitted, that the hard circumstances form the strong character, as the cold climes of the north n…" by Letitia Elizabeth Landon?
Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo
Letitia Elizabeth Landon 785
English poet and novelist 1802–1838

Related quotes

Susan B. Anthony photo

“The men and women of the North are slaveholders, those of the South slaveowners. The guilt rests on the North equally with the South.”

Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) American women's rights activist

Speech on No Union with Slaveholders (1857)

Samuel Adams photo
Benjamin Disraeli photo

“Man is not the creature of circumstances, circumstances are the creatures of men. We are free agents, and man is more powerful than matter.”

Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) British Conservative politician, writer, aristocrat and Prime Minister

Book VI, Chapter 7.
Books, Coningsby (1844), Vivian Grey (1826)

Livy photo

“He would not anticipate those counsels which are rather bestowed by circumstances on men, than by men on circumstances.”

Livy (-59–17 BC) Roman historian

Book XXII, sec. 38
History of Rome

André Maurois photo

“Those with easy temperaments and weak characters are more likable than admirable; those with difficult temperaments and strong characters are more admirable than likable.”

Sydney J. Harris (1917–1986) American journalist

“Confusing ‘Character’ with ‘Temperament’”
Clearing the Ground (1986)
Context: Character is something you forge for yourself; temperament is something you are born with and can only slightly modify. Some people have easy temperaments and weak characters; others have difficult temperaments and strong characters.
We are all prone to confuse the two in assessing people we associate with. Those with easy temperaments and weak characters are more likable than admirable; those with difficult temperaments and strong characters are more admirable than likable. Of course, the optimum for a person is to possess both an easy temperament and a strong character, but this is a rare combination, and few of us are that lucky. The people who get things done tend to be prickly, and the people we enjoy being with tend to be accepting, and there seems to be no way to get around this. Obviously, there are many combinations of character and temperament, in varying degrees, so that this is only a rough generalization — but I think it is one worth remembering when we make personal judgments.

Booker T. Washington quote: “Character, not circumstances, makes the man.”
Booker T. Washington photo

“Character, not circumstances, makes the man.”

Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) African-American educator, author, orator, and advisor

"Democracy and Education" http://web.archive.org/20071031084046/www.historycooperative.org/btw/Vol.4/html/222.html, speech, Institute of Arts and Sciences, Brooklyn NY (30 September 1896)

Euripidés photo

“Circumstances rule men and not men circumstances.”

Euripidés (-480–-406 BC) ancient Athenian playwright

Herodotus, Book 7, Ch. 49; Misattributed to Euripedes in "The Imperial Four" by Professor Creasy in Bentley's Miscellany Vol. 33 (January 1853), p. 22
Variant translation: Circumstances rule men; men do not rule circumstances.
Misattributed

Susan B. Anthony photo
Herodotus photo

“Circumstances rule men; men do not rule circumstances.”

Book 7, Ch. 49.
The Histories

Related topics