trait quotes

Death is an acquired trait.

-Woody pseudonym of  Allen Stewart Konigsberg Allen
Quoted in Eric Lax Woody  Allen and His Comedy (1975), ch.11.

Man is essentially the imitative animal. His whole educabilityand in fact the whole history of civilization depend on this trait, which his strong tendencies to rivalry, jealousy, and acquisitiveness reinforce.

-William James
  The Principles of Psychology, ch.24.