Powerful Quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. on Character

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

The true character of a person is revealed in their actions, not their words.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

The time is always right to do what is right.

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.

If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.

Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.

The time is always right to do what is right.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.

Powerful Quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. on Character part 2

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.

The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.

We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.

The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice.

We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

Those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.

If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.

The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience.

Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude.

The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.

There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But… the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’

The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.

There comes a time when silence is betrayal.

Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a sword that heals.

The day we see the truth and cease to speak is the day we begin to die.

We must be concerned about every man and woman because we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny.

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.

The time is always right to do what is right.

If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.