--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ideal of character always runs beyond…" description: "\"The ideal of character always runs beyond the attainment.\" — Lyman Abbott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/lyman-abbott-12542_attainment_the-ideal-of-character-always-runs-beyon_3089430.png" --- # The ideal of character always runs beyond the attainment. ![“The ideal of character always runs beyond the attainment.” quote by Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/lyman-abbott-12542_attainment_the-ideal-of-character-always-runs-beyon_3089430.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/lyman-abbott-12542_attainment_the-ideal-of-character-always-runs-beyon_3089430.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/lyman-abbott-12542_attainment_the-ideal-of-character-always-runs-beyon_3089430.png) > “The ideal of character always runs beyond the attainment.” [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The pursuit of moral excellence is an endless journey; true character is never fully achieved. **In simple terms:** Character is a continual striving beyond any achievement. Key Takeaway Embrace lifelong growth in moral character. Themes ethics self-improvement philosophy spirituality Mood inspirational reflective serious Type philosophical motivational ethical When to use this quote - personal development - leadership - education - spiritual practice - community service Key Concepts virtue ethics human potential continuous development Questions to Reflect On - What does “always runs beyond” mean to you? - How can you balance striving with acceptance? A Different Perspective Perfection is unattainable, leading to frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attainment/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Runs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-runs-1231005/) [Ideal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal/) [Ideal Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-character-1490771/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Runs Attainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runs-attainment-5305420/) ## Related quotes > [I take little bits and pieces of ideas that I may or may not believe in but I give them to this character and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhonen-vasquez/i-take-little-bits-and-pieces-of-ideas-that-i-may-or-may-not-believe/) [Jhonen Vasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhonen-vasquez/) > [I believe that ideal character in its perfection is potentially in every man who is born into the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-edward-woodberry/i-believe-that-ideal-character-in-its-perfection-is-potentially-in/) [George Edward Woodberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-edward-woodberry/) > [“but she remained more or less and ideal character, about whose form he began to weave curious and fantastic day-dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/but-she-remained-more-or-less-and-ideal-character-about-whose-form-he/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [A large portion of human beings live not so much in themselves as in what they desire to be. They create what is called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/a-large-portion-of-human-beings-live-not-so-much-in-themselves-as-in/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [The attainment of an ideal is often the beginning of a disillusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-baldwin/the-attainment-of-an-ideal-is-often-the-beginning-of-a-disillusion/) [Stanley Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-baldwin/) > [What are the American ideals? They are the development of the individual for his own and the common good; the development of the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/what-are-the-american-ideals-they-are-the-development-of-the/) [Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/) > [Do not try to produce an ideal child, it would find no fitness in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/do-not-try-to-produce-an-ideal-child-it-would-find-no-fitness-in-this/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The American ideal is, after all, that everyone should be as much alike as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-american-ideal-is-after-all-that-everyone-should-be-as-much-alike/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [Live for an ideal, and that one ideal alone. Let it be so great, so strong, that there may be nothing else left in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/live-for-an-ideal-and-that-one-ideal-alone-let-it-be-so-great-so/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [In many ways, a degree in the history of ideas is the ideal training for an aspiring writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fortier/in-many-ways-a-degree-in-the-history-of-ideas-is-the-ideal-training/) [Anne Fortier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fortier/) > [Now is the time to lead your ideal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-cousineau/now-is-the-time-to-lead-your-ideal-life/) [Phil Cousineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-cousineau/) > [I think in an ideal world, one would be able to do everything, however, we don't live in an ideal world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-graziadei/i-think-in-an-ideal-world-one-would-be-able-to-do-everything-however/) [Michael Graziadei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-graziadei/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I've always worked closely with the designers and whoever's making the costumes. Comfort is the last thing you want on your mind when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-yamaguchi/i-ve-always-worked-closely-with-the-designers-and-whoever-s-making/) [Kristi Yamaguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-yamaguchi/) > [my definition of the ideal man is 'that particular man with whom a woman happens to be in love at that particular time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/my-definition-of-the-ideal-man-is-that-particular-man-with-whom-a/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) ## More by Lyman Abbott > [No man can be patient who has not strong passions, for patience is passion tamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/no-man-can-be-patient-who-has-not-strong-passions-for-patience-is/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [We Gentiles owe our life to Israel. It is Israel who has brought us the message that God is one, and that God is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/we-gentiles-owe-our-life-to-israel-it-is-israel-who-has-brought-us/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [If the impure and the unjust, the drunkard and the licentious, are loathsome to us, what must be the infinite loathing of an infinitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/if-the-impure-and-the-unjust-the-drunkard-and-the-licentious-are/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [I abhor a hoe. I am fond of flowers but not of dirt, and had rather buy them than cultivate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/i-abhor-a-hoe-i-am-fond-of-flowers-but-not-of-dirt-and-had-rather-buy/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [If I am to tell you how to grow old gracefully, I must tell you at the beginning of life; for no man can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/if-i-am-to-tell-you-how-to-grow-old-gracefully-i-must-tell-you-at-the/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [Courage is caution overcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/courage-is-caution-overcome/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [It is easy to condemn, it is better to pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/it-is-easy-to-condemn-it-is-better-to-pity/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [Every life is march from innocence, through temptation, to virtue or vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/every-life-is-march-from-innocence-through-temptation-to-virtue-or/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [A graceful and blessed old age must have three elements in it: a happy retrospect, a peaceful present, and an inspiring future. And old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/a-graceful-and-blessed-old-age-must-have-three-elements-in-it-a-happy/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [A child is a beam of sunlight from the Infinite and Eternal, with possibilities of virtue and vice - but as yet unstained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/a-child-is-a-beam-of-sunlight-from-the-infinite-and-eternal-with/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [I think of death as a glad awakening from this troubled sleep which we call life; as an emancipation from a world, which, beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/i-think-of-death-as-a-glad-awakening-from-this-troubled-sleep-which/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [A miracle constantly repeated becomes a process of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/a-miracle-constantly-repeated-becomes-a-process-of-nature/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [Evolution does not attempt to explain the origin of life. It is simply a history of the process of life. With the secret cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/evolution-does-not-attempt-to-explain-the-origin-of-life-it-is-simply/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [A miracle no longer seems to me a manifestation of extraordinary power, but an extraordinary manifestation of ordinary power. God is always showing himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/a-miracle-no-longer-seems-to-me-a-manifestation-of-extraordinary/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [Postmodernism represents a moment of suspension before the batteries are recharged for the new millennium, an acknowledgment that preceding the future is a strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/postmodernism-represents-a-moment-of-suspension-before-the-batteries/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) [Explore all 54 Lyman Abbott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) ## More Attainment quotes > [Life, whether in this world or any other, is the sum of our attainment, our experience, our character. The conditions are secondary. In what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/life-whether-in-this-world-or-any-other-is-the-sum-of-our-attainment/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [The Attainment of freedom, whether for a person, a nation or a world, must be in exact proportion to the attainment of nonviolence for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-attainment-of-freedom-whether-for-a-person-a-nation-or-a-world/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“All achievements, whether in the business, intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of definitely directed thought, are governed by the same law and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-allen/all-achievements-whether-in-the-business-intellectual-or-spiritual/) [James Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-allen/) > [In transmitting the dharma, there is neither explanation nor teaching; there is neighter hearing nor attainment. Since explanations never really explains, nor are they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daido-loori/in-transmitting-the-dharma-there-is-neither-explanation-nor-teaching/) [John Daido Loori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daido-loori/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The mind of one meditating on a single object becomes one-pointed. And one-pointedness of mind leads to abidance in the self. Real attainment is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-mind-of-one-meditating-on-a-single-object-becomes-one-pointed-and/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Wisdom can boast no higher attainment than happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/wisdom-can-boast-no-higher-attainment-than-happiness/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [Not merely by rules of conduct and religious observances, nor by much learning either, nor even by attainment of concentration, nor by sleeping alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-merely-by-rules-of-conduct-and-religious-observances-nor-by-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most important rules that I ever adopted to help me in achieving my goals were those I learned from a very successful man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-most-important-rules-that-i-ever-adopted-to-help-me-in-achieving/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Like myself, all Americans have a deep concern for the well-being of Iran. With them I have watched closely your courageous efforts, your steadfastness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/like-myself-all-americans-have-a-deep-concern-for-the-well-being-of/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [The ability to discriminate between that which is true and that which is false is one of the last attainments of the human mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/the-ability-to-discriminate-between-that-which-is-true-and-that-which/) [James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/) > [The more clearly defined and keenly desired your goals, the more of your natural creativity will be released for goal attainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/the-more-clearly-defined-and-keenly-desired-your-goals-the-more-of/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Every attainment, every step forward in knowledge, follows from courage, from hardness against oneself, from cleanliness in relation to oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-attainment-every-step-forward-in-knowledge-follows-from-courage/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And only the very courageous will be able to keep alive the spirit of individualism and dissent which gave birth to this nation, nourished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/and-only-the-very-courageous-will-be-able-to-keep-alive-the-spirit-of/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Some read for style, and some for argument: one has little care about the sentiment, he observes only how it is expressed; another regards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/some-read-for-style-and-some-for-argument-one-has-little-care-about/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Browse all 363 Attainment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attainment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The ideal of character always runs beyond the attainment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lyman Abbott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/the-ideal-of-character-always-runs-beyond-the-attainment/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attainment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/the-ideal-of-character-always-runs-beyond-the-attainment/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/lyman-abbott-12542_attainment_the-ideal-of-character-always-runs-beyon_3089430.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/lyman-abbott-12542_attainment_the-ideal-of-character-always-runs-beyon_3089430.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/lyman-abbott-12542_attainment_the-ideal-of-character-always-runs-beyon_3089430.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The ideal of character always runs beyond the attainment.” — Lyman Abbott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lyman Abbott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The ideal of character always runs...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/the-ideal-of-character-always-runs-beyond-the-attainment/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/the-ideal-of-character-always-runs-beyond-the-attainment/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```