--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you want to be witty, work on your…" description: "\"If you want to be witty, work on your character and say what you think on every occasion.\" — Stendhal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/stendhal-1379_character_if-you-want-to-be-witty-work-on-your-cha_1651372.jpg" --- # If you want to be witty, work on your character and say… ![“If you want to be witty, work on your character and say what you think on every occasion.” quote by Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/stendhal-1379_character_if-you-want-to-be-witty-work-on-your-cha_1651372.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/stendhal-1379_character_if-you-want-to-be-witty-work-on-your-cha_1651372.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/stendhal-1379_character_if-you-want-to-be-witty-work-on-your-cha_1651372.jpg) > “If you want to be witty, work on your character and say what you think on every occasion.” [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True wit comes from character, not clever remarks; speak honestly in every situation. **In simple terms:** Wit stems from character, not just cleverness. Key Takeaway Cultivate character to be genuinely witty. Themes character wit honesty Mood thoughtful encouraging Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - public speaking - social interactions - writing Key Concepts integrity self‑expression communication Questions to Reflect On - How does character shape your humor? - When is honesty more valuable than wit? A Different Perspective Wit without depth can seem shallow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-say-658382/) [Every occasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-occasion/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Witty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-witty-658381/) [Witty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witty/) [Witty Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witty-work-658383/) [Work Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-character-285525/) ## Related quotes > [If you want to be witty, say what you think at all times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-you-want-to-be-witty-say-what-you-think-at-all-times/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [On every occasion of uneasiness, we should retire to prayer, that we may give place to the grace and light of God and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/on-every-occasion-of-uneasiness-we-should-retire-to-prayer-that-we/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [Men are less hesitant about harming someone who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared because love is held together by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-are-less-hesitant-about-harming-someone-who-makes-himself-loved/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I respect the truth too much to drag it out on every occasion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/i-respect-the-truth-too-much-to-drag-it-out-on-every-occasion/) [Jerome K. 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Then you go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/when-you-work-on-a-character-you-form-in-your-mind-an-image-of-what/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) ## More by Stendhal > [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [The pleasures and the cares of the luckiest ambition, even of limitless power, are nothing next to the intimate happiness that tenderness and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-pleasures-and-the-cares-of-the-luckiest-ambition-even-of/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [The more a race is governed by its passions, the less it has acquired the habit of cautious and reasoned argument, the more intense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-more-a-race-is-governed-by-its-passions-the-less-it-has-acquired/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [The tyranny of public opinion (and what an opinion!) is as fatuous in the small towns of France as it is in the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-tyranny-of-public-opinion-and-what-an-opinion-is-as-fatuous-in/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [In love, unlike most other passions, the recollection of what you have had and lost is always better than what you can hope for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/in-love-unlike-most-other-passions-the-recollection-of-what-you-have/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“The footman burst in, announcing, 'Monsieur le Duc de ---.' 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I divine something in you which offends the vulgar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/your-career-will-be-a-painful-one-i-divine-something-in-you-which/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [On a cold winter morning a cigar fortifies the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/on-a-cold-winter-morning-a-cigar-fortifies-the-soul/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [A forty-year-old woman is only something to men who have loved her in her youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/a-forty-year-old-woman-is-only-something-to-men-who-have-loved-her-in/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [Perhaps men who cannot love passionately are those who feel the effect of beauty most keenly; at any rate this is the strongest impression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/perhaps-men-who-cannot-love-passionately-are-those-who-feel-the/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [Who knows whether it is not true that phosphorus and mind are not the same thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/who-knows-whether-it-is-not-true-that-phosphorus-and-mind-are-not-the/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“Could anything possibly be more humorous than believing in the depth or in the depravity of the Parisian character?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/could-anything-possibly-be-more-humorous-than-believing-in-the-depth/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [The idea which tyrants find most useful is the idea of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-idea-which-tyrants-find-most-useful-is-the-idea-of-god/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) [Explore all 184 Stendhal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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