--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Character: the grandest thing in the world." description: "\"Character: the grandest thing in the world.\" — Orison Swett Marden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-the-grandest-thing-in-the-worl_1338516.png" --- # Character: the grandest thing in the world. ![“Character: the grandest thing in the world.” quote by Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-the-grandest-thing-in-the-worl_1338516.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-the-grandest-thing-in-the-worl_1338516.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-the-grandest-thing-in-the-worl_1338516.png) > “Character: the grandest thing in the world.” [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Character is the highest achievement, surpassing material wealth or fame. **In simple terms:** Character matters most. Key Takeaway Cultivate strong moral character. Themes integrity self‑development legacy Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - leadership - personal growth - community service - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts virtue self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - How can you develop character daily? - What does character mean to you? A Different Perspective Great character alone cannot guarantee success without opportunity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Orison Swett Marden, who wrote Character: The Grandest Thing in the World in 1899, produced another popular title in 1921. It was called Masterful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/orison-swett-marden-who-wrote-character-the-grandest-thing-in-the/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [How can I develop myself into the grandest possible manhood?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/how-can-i-develop-myself-into-the-grandest-possible-manhood/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“To my way of thinking, no one can live in the grandest cathedral on earth, the Rocky Mountains, and not know that there's someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-connealy/to-my-way-of-thinking-no-one-can-live-in-the-grandest-cathedral-on/) [Mary Connealy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-connealy/) > [I call the book of Job, apart from all theories about it, one of the grandest things ever written with the pen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/i-call-the-book-of-job-apart-from-all-theories-about-it-one-of-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Home is the grandest of all institutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/home-is-the-grandest-of-all-institutions/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [The battle of Austerlitz is the grandest of all I have fought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-battle-of-austerlitz-is-the-grandest-of-all-i-have-fought/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Knowing the sin in this world’s grandest depravity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/knowing-the-sin-in-this-world-s-grandest-depravity/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [Truth is poetry; it is the grandest poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/truth-is-poetry-it-is-the-grandest-poetry/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Two thousand years ago there was One here on this earth who lived the grandest life that ever has been lived yet - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/two-thousand-years-ago-there-was-one-here-on-this-earth-who-lived-the/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [The Silurian Period-the grandest of all the Periods,-and, as yet, apparently the seed-time of all succeeding life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-bigsby/the-silurian-period-the-grandest-of-all-the-periods-and-as-yet/) John Jeremiah Bigsby > [If I'm called to be on the grandest stage, at 'WrestleMania,' I'll be ready.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-jax/if-i-m-called-to-be-on-the-grandest-stage-at-wrestlemania-i-ll-be/) [Nia Jax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-jax/) > [For a soul to come to Jesus, is the grandest event in its history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-alleine/for-a-soul-to-come-to-jesus-is-the-grandest-event-in-its-history/) [Joseph Alleine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-alleine/) > [The most ordinary things, the most common and familiar, if we could see them in their true light, would turn out to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-most-ordinary-things-the-most-common-and-familiar-if-we-could-see/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“The biggest catch need not be grandest at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-harglesis/the-biggest-catch-need-not-be-grandest-at-all/) [Andy Harglesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-harglesis/) > [“We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-know-that-god-is-everywhere-but-certainly-we-feel-his-presence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Orison Swett Marden > [“We can so educate the will power that it will focus the thoughts upon the bright side of things, and upon objects which elevate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-can-so-educate-the-will-power-that-it-will-focus-the-thoughts-upon/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was napping by binding him with tiny threads. Each thread was a trifle which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-captured-while-he-was-napping-by/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The hatred thought cannot live an instant in the presence of the love thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-hatred-thought-cannot-live-an-instant-in-the-presence-of-the-love/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“About as poor business as one can engage in is that of going through life with one's eyes so fixed upon what others have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/about-as-poor-business-as-one-can-engage-in-is-that-of-going-through/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“We tend to get what we expect, and if we expect nothing we get nothing. The stream cannot rise higher than its fountainhead;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-tend-to-get-what-we-expect-and-if-we-expect-nothing-we-get-nothing/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [There never will be a trust in excellence or a combination in superiority. As long as you can do a thing a little better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-never-will-be-a-trust-in-excellence-or-a-combination-in/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-are-powers-inside-of-you-which-if-you-could-discover-and-use/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Most men fail, not through lack of education or agreeable personal qualities, but from lack of dogged determination, from lack of dauntless will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/most-men-fail-not-through-lack-of-education-or-agreeable-personal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Something greater than wealth, grander even than fame — that manhood, character, stand for success, and that nothing else really does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/something-greater-than-wealth-grander-even-than-fame-that-manhood/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The universe is one great kindergarten. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson. The mountain teaches stability and grandeur; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-universe-is-one-great-kindergarten-everything-that-exists-has/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/if-you-want-to-enlarge-your-life-you-must-first-enlarge-your-thought/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [The moment man cuts himself off from living connection with the human race and its needs, he begins to die from poor circulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-moment-man-cuts-himself-off-from-living-connection-with-the-human/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“There is something inside of a man which protests against doing that which tends to injure another, that which does not square with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-is-something-inside-of-a-man-which-protests-against-doing-that/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [A good system shortens the road to the goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/a-good-system-shortens-the-road-to-the-goal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Keep fear out of your child's mind, as you would keep poison out of his body; for fear is the deadliest of mental poisons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/keep-fear-out-of-your-child-s-mind-as-you-would-keep-poison-out-of/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) [Explore all 396 Orison Swett Marden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Character: the grandest thing in the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Orison Swett Marden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/character-the-grandest-thing-in-the-world/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/character-the-grandest-thing-in-the-world/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-the-grandest-thing-in-the-worl_1338516.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-the-grandest-thing-in-the-worl_1338516.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-the-grandest-thing-in-the-worl_1338516.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Character: the grandest thing in the world.” — Orison Swett Marden", "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": "Orison Swett Marden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Character: the grandest thing in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/character-the-grandest-thing-in-the-world/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/character-the-grandest-thing-in-the-world/#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 } } ] } ```