James Hillman Quotes about Character

All James Hillman Quotes Character quotes Childhood Children Culture Economics Environment Giving Imagination Inspirational Loss Love Past Psychology Purpose Soul Today Tradition Writing

Aging is no accident. It is necessary to the human condition, intended by the soul. We become more characteristic of who we are simply by lasting into later years; the older we become, the more our true natures emerge.

Aging is no accident. It is necessary to the human condition, intended by the soul. We become more characteristic of who we are simply by lasting into later years; the older we become, the more our true natures emerge. Thus the final years have a very important purpose: the fulfillment and confirmation of one’s character.

James Hillman

Character, Years, Soul

I like to imagine a person's psyche to be like a boardinghouse full of characters. The ones who show up regularly and who habitually follow the house rules may not have met other long-term residents who stay behind closed doors, or who only appear at night. An adequate theory of character must make room for character actors, for the stuntmen and animal handlers, for all the figures who play bit parts and produce unexpected acts. They often make the show fateful, or tragic, or farcically absurd.

James Hillman

Character, Night, Animal

It helps to regard soul as an active intelligence, forming and plotting each person's fate. Translators use "plot" to render the ancient Greek word mythos in English. The plots that entangle our souls and draw forth our characters are the great myths. That is why we need a sense of myth and knowledge of different myths to gain insight into our epic struggles, our misalliances, and our tragedies. Myths show the imaginative structures inside our messes, and our human characters can locate themselves against the background of the characters of myth.

James Hillman

Struggle, Character, Fate

James Hillman (2012). “The Force of Character: And the Lasting Life”, p.11, Ballantine Books

Character forms a life regardless of how obscurely that life is lived and how little light falls on it from the stars.

James Hillman

Stars, Fall, Character

You are born with a character; it is given, a gift, as the old stories say, from the guardians upon your birth...Each person enters the world called.

James Hillman

Character, Stories, World

The character truest to itself becomes eccentric rather than immovably centered, as Emerson defined the noble character of the hero. At the edge, the certainty of borders gives way. We are more subject to invasions, less able to mobilize defenses, less sure of who we really are, even as we may be perceived by others as a person of character. The dislocation of self from center to indefinite edge merges us more with the world, so that we can feel blest by everything.

James Hillman

Hero, Character, Blessing

James Hillman (2012). “The Force of Character: And the Lasting Life”, p.37, Ballantine Books

You may not become a celebrity. You may even experience lots of illness or divorce, or unhappiness. But I think there is still a thread of individual character that determines how you live through those things.

James Hillman

Character, Divorce, Thinking

Source: scottlondon.com

James Hillman Quotes about Character

You May Also Like: