All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This and not much else is the essence of leadership.

As it is the characteristic of great wits to say much in few words so small wits seem to have the gift of speaking much and saying nothing.

There are many qualities that make a great leader. But having strong beliefs being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times is the most important characteristic of a great leader.

It is not by muscle speed or physical dexterity that great things are achieved but by reflection force of character and judgment.

The willow which bends to the tempest often escapes better than the oak which resists it and so in great calamities it sometimes happens that light and frivolous spirits recover their elasticity and presence of mind sooner than those of a loftier character.

Character may be manifested in the great moments but it is made in the small ones.

Character in great and little things means carrying through what you feel able to do.

Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think.

Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.

The fact that political ideologies are tangible realities is not a proof of their vitally necessary character. The bubonic plague was an extraordinarily powerful social reality but no one would have regarded it as vitally necessary.