“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character”
Speech made in honor of Thomas Mann in January 1939, when Mann was given the Einstein Prize given by the Jewish Forum. Quoted in Einstein Lived Here by Abraham Pais (1994), p. 214 http://books.google.com/books?id=u_9QAAAAMAAJ&q=%22becomes+lack+of+power%22#search_anchor
1930s
Context: The standard bearers have grown weak in the defense of their priceless heritage, and the powers of darkness have been strengthened thereby. Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character; it becomes lack of power to act with courage proportionate to danger. All this must lead to the destruction of our intellectual life unless the danger summons up strong personalities able to fill the lukewarm and discouraged with new strength and resolution.
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Albert Einstein 702
German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativi… 1879–1955Related quotes
“One ought to have the moral character and tolerance to forgive people’s weaknesses.”
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1940s
Context: I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being.
“Gambling is a wretched vice,” Lady Corey replied with a sniff. “A snare for men of weak character.”
Source: Arabella and the Battle of Venus (2017), Chapter 5, “Navigation” (p. 71)
Source: Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy (1958), Chapter Six, The Flight From Laputa, p. 121
Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)
If This Is a Man (1947)
Source: If This Is a Man / The Truce
“The greatest weakness of all weaknesses is to fear too much to appear weak.”
Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture (1709)
“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.
2009, Cartias in Vertitate (29 June 2009)