--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Character is better than ancestry, and…" description: "\"Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is more important than the highest parentage.\" — Thomas John Barnardo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/thomas-john-barnardo-60876_ancestry_character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-pe_429817.jpg" --- # Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is… ![“Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is more important than the highest parentage.” quote by Thomas John Barnardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/thomas-john-barnardo-60876_ancestry_character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-pe_429817.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/thomas-john-barnardo-60876_ancestry_character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-pe_429817.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/thomas-john-barnardo-60876_ancestry_character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-pe_429817.jpg) > “Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is more important than the highest parentage.” [Thomas John Barnardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-john-barnardo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Character and personal conduct are more valuable than noble lineage or ancestry. **In simple terms:** Character matters more than family background. Key Takeaway Focus on building good character. Themes ethics family personal growth Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - parenting - leadership - self‑development Key Concepts morality inheritance identity Questions to Reflect On - How do you cultivate character in others? - Can ancestry ever positively influence conduct? A Different Perspective The statement may overlook systemic advantages of ancestry. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestry/) [Better Ancestry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-ancestry-1440114/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-better-651616/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Highest Parentage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest-parentage-3791415/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Personal Conduct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-conduct-571572/) ## Related quotes > [Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is of more importance than the highest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-john-barnardo/character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-personal-conduct-is-of-more/) [Thomas John Barnardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-john-barnardo/) > [“When a prince’s personal conduct is correct,” Confucius said, “his government is effective without the issuing of orders. If his personal conduct is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/when-a-prince-s-personal-conduct-is-correct-confucius-said-his/) [Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/) > [While I am happy to make the occasional foray into educational philosophy - writing, for example, of the difficulty in the contemporary context for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/while-i-am-happy-to-make-the-occasional-foray-into-educational/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [There can be no freedom in the large sense of the word, no harmonious development, so long as mercenary and commercial considerations play an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/there-can-be-no-freedom-in-the-large-sense-of-the-word-no-harmonious/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [We have advanced far enough to say that democracy is a way of life. We have yet to realize that it is a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/we-have-advanced-far-enough-to-say-that-democracy-is-a-way-of-life-we/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Is there really any relationship between artists' personal conduct and their art? Certainly not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-kaplan/is-there-really-any-relationship-between-artists-personal-conduct-and/) [Fred Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-kaplan/) > [“There are many who consider as an injury to themselves any conduct which they have a distaste for, and resent it as an outrage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/there-are-many-who-consider-as-an-injury-to-themselves-any-conduct/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [You do not have to be convicted or even charged of a crime to be able to demonstrate that you've violated a personal conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-goodell/you-do-not-have-to-be-convicted-or-even-charged-of-a-crime-to-be-able/) [Roger Goodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-goodell/) > [When a role involves physical transformation, it helps build the character better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shweta-tripathi/when-a-role-involves-physical-transformation-it-helps-build-the/) [Shweta Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shweta-tripathi/) > [A baby is such a blank slate, like training the understudy for a role you're planning to leave. You truly hope your replacement will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/a-baby-is-such-a-blank-slate-like-training-the-understudy-for-a-role/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Players with high character get better. Players with a serious approach get better. The fools never get better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-van-gundy/players-with-high-character-get-better-players-with-a-serious/) [Jeff Van Gundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-van-gundy/) > [Nothing teaches character better than generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/nothing-teaches-character-better-than-generosity/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [She began to see that character is a better possession than money, rank, intellect, or beauty, and to feel that if greatness is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-began-to-see-that-character-is-a-better-possession-than-money/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone has the obligation to ponder well his own specific traits of character. He must also regulate them adequately and not wonder whether someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/everyone-has-the-obligation-to-ponder-well-his-own-specific-traits-of/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [One never gets to know a person's character better than by watching his behavior during decisive moments… It is always only danger which forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/one-never-gets-to-know-a-person-s-character-better-than-by-watching/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) ## More by Thomas John Barnardo > [Only disaster can follow divided counsels and opposing wills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-john-barnardo/only-disaster-can-follow-divided-counsels-and-opposing-wills/) [Thomas John Barnardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-john-barnardo/) > [There can be only one Captain to a ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-john-barnardo/there-can-be-only-one-captain-to-a-ship/) [Thomas John Barnardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-john-barnardo/) > [The work to me is everything, and I would throw every rule overboard and send them to the bottom of the sea tomorrow, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-john-barnardo/the-work-to-me-is-everything-and-i-would-throw-every-rule-overboard/) [Thomas John Barnardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-john-barnardo/) > [Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is of more importance than the highest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-john-barnardo/character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-personal-conduct-is-of-more/) [Thomas John Barnardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-john-barnardo/) [Explore all 5 Thomas John Barnardo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-john-barnardo/) ## More Ancestry quotes > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Blood is a destiny. One's genius descends in the stream from long lines of ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/blood-is-a-destiny-one-s-genius-descends-in-the-stream-from-long/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [Being a mixed-blood person of Ojibway and European ancestry, I always found that I only heard one side of the story - that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-boyden/being-a-mixed-blood-person-of-ojibway-and-european-ancestry-i-always/) [Joseph Boyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-boyden/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [I've got German, Cornish and Scottish ancestry. It might help explain my affinity for forests, the sea, and fatty foods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-maclachlan/i-ve-got-german-cornish-and-scottish-ancestry-it-might-help-explain/) [Kyle MacLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-maclachlan/) > [“I have always found it difficult not to be moved by Jerusalem, even when I hated it—and God knows I have hated it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/i-have-always-found-it-difficult-not-to-be-moved-by-jerusalem-even/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [I've never felt grounded because of my ancestry or my gender. I think until women get away from that they're not going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-ve-never-felt-grounded-because-of-my-ancestry-or-my-gender-i-think/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I get anxious. That lovely Jewish guilt that comes with ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-rudolph/i-get-anxious-that-lovely-jewish-guilt-that-comes-with-ancestry/) [Maya Rudolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-rudolph/) > [The function of the artist is to disturb. His duty is to arouse the sleeper, to shake the complacent pillars of the world. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-bethune/the-function-of-the-artist-is-to-disturb-his-duty-is-to-arouse-the/) [Norman Bethune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-bethune/) > [Both the ancestry and posterity of Grief go further than the ancestry and posterity of Joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/both-the-ancestry-and-posterity-of-grief-go-further-than-the-ancestry/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [I wasn't trying to work out my own ancestry. I was trying to get people to feel slavery. I was trying to get across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wasn-t-trying-to-work-out-my-own-ancestry-i-was-trying-to-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Ancestry is not destiny,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/ancestry-is-not-destiny/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > […Even the idea of a city never entered his mind. It was as if he had walked under the millimeter of haze just above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/even-the-idea-of-a-city-never-entered-his-mind-it-was-as-if-he-had/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) [Browse all 256 Ancestry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is more important than the highest parentage.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas John Barnardo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-john-barnardo/character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-personal-conduct-is-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ancestry" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-john-barnardo/character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-personal-conduct-is-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/thomas-john-barnardo-60876_ancestry_character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-pe_429817.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/thomas-john-barnardo-60876_ancestry_character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-pe_429817.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/thomas-john-barnardo-60876_ancestry_character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-pe_429817.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is more important than the highest parentage.” — Thomas John Barnardo", "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": "Thomas John Barnardo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-john-barnardo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Character is better than ancestry, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-john-barnardo/character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-personal-conduct-is-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-john-barnardo/character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-personal-conduct-is-more/#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 } } ] } ```