Henry David Thoreau Quotes

In so complex a thing as human nature, we must consider it is hard to find rules without exception.

Every character is in some respects uniform, and in others inconsistent; and it is only by the study both of the uniformity and inconsistency, and a comparison of them with each other, that the knowledge of man is acquired.

The more one analyses people, the more all reasons for analysis disappear. Sooner or later one comes to that dreadful universal thing called human nature.

I like analyzing human behavior. It's complex. That's what keeps me going.

People are very complex. And for a psychologist, you get fascinated by the complexity of human beings, and that is what I have lived with, you know, in my career all of my life, is the complexity of human beings.

Guess what? Human beings are complex.

I'm someone who likes to explore the complexities in people.

Because I am fascinated by people and what makes them behave the way they do. I think it is one of the most fascinating things in the world.

I'm fascinated with psychology, and with why a person walks the way they walk or why they walk into a room the way they do or why we are the way we are, and it's not exclusive to the psychology of a character.

Temperament is the thermometer of character.

Character isn't what we think it is or, rather, what we want it to be. It isn't a stable, easily identifiable set of closely related traits, and it only seems that way because of a glitch in the way our brains are organized. Character is more like a bundle of habits and tendencies and interests, loosely bound together and dependent, at certain times, on circumstance and context.

Girls are infinitely more complicated than boys, and women more than men.

When it comes to people -- don't write about who you know; but what you know of human nature.

There appears to be but two grand master passions or movers in the human mind, namely, love and pride. And what constitutes the beauty or deformity of a man's character is the choice he makes under which banner he determines to enlist himself. But there is a strong distinction between different degress in the same thing and a mixture of two contraries.

Softness of smile indicates softness of character.

It is their character indeed that makes people who they are. But it is by reason of their actions that they are happy or the reverse.

I don't mind assholes. It's the dork I don't trust. The dork is the one who's trying to be whatever he thinks you want him to be. I trust the asshole cause you know where he's gonna stand.

The conduct of men depends upon their temperament, not upon a bunch of musty maxims.

The universe seems bankrupt as soon as we begin to discuss the characters of individuals.

I'm very interested in people, so if a character happens to be real, there's that much more to look at.

To be able to let you know who someone is in just a couple of words, I'd have to pick the most pronounced features of a character's personality. And I always feel like I'm leaving out so many important little ones.

It seems a pity that psychology has destroyed all our knowledge of human nature.

Now for the hitch in Jane's character,' he said at last, speaking more calmly than from his look I had expected him to speak. 'The reel of silk has run smoothly enough so far; but I always knew there would come a knot and a puzzle: here it is. Now for vexation, and exasperation, and endless trouble!

The more you spend time with a character, the more you see different nuances of that character.

To judge human character rightly, a man may sometimes have very small experience, provided he has a very large heart.