--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man must have vices, expensive ones if…" description: "\"A man must have vices, expensive ones if possible. Otherwise when he reaches old age he will have nothing to be redeemed from.\" — Carlos Ruiz Zafon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/carlos-ruiz-zafon-126_age_a-man-must-have-vices-expensive-ones-if_635983.jpg" --- # A man must have vices, expensive ones if possible… ![“A man must have vices, expensive ones if possible. Otherwise when he reaches old age he will have nothing to be redeemed from.” quote by Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/carlos-ruiz-zafon-126_age_a-man-must-have-vices-expensive-ones-if_635983.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/carlos-ruiz-zafon-126_age_a-man-must-have-vices-expensive-ones-if_635983.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/carlos-ruiz-zafon-126_age_a-man-must-have-vices-expensive-ones-if_635983.jpg) > “A man must have vices, expensive ones if possible. Otherwise when he reaches old age he will have nothing to be redeemed from.” [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People seek indulgences to avoid confronting mortality, hoping material excess can mask existential emptiness. **In simple terms:** Vices distract from aging regrets. Key Takeaway Cultivate meaningful values over material excess. Themes mortality excess redemption Mood reflective somber Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - old age - financial planning - personal reflection - ethical living Key Concepts existentialism materialism legacy Questions to Reflect On - What values will you prioritize as you age? - How can you find redemption without excess? A Different Perspective Material indulgence cannot replace inner fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [“A man must have vices, expensive ones if possible, otherwise when he reaches old age he will have nothing to be redeemed of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-must-have-vices-expensive-ones-if-possible-otherwise-when-he-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Alas! Man's vices, horrible as they are supposed to be, contain the positive proof of his taste for the infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/alas-man-s-vices-horrible-as-they-are-supposed-to-be-contain-the/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [“If a man has no vices, he's in great danger of making vices out of his virtues, and there's a spectacle. We've all seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/if-a-man-has-no-vices-he-s-in-great-danger-of-making-vices-out-of-his/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [My experience has taught me that a man who has no vices has damned few virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/my-experience-has-taught-me-that-a-man-who-has-no-vices-has-damned/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If a man has no vices, he is in great danger of making vices about his virtues, and there's a spectacle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/if-a-man-has-no-vices-he-is-in-great-danger-of-making-vices-about-his/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many a man's vices have at first been nothing worse than good qualities run wild.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/many-a-man-s-vices-have-at-first-been-nothing-worse-than-good/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [I do not hate the man, but his vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/i-do-not-hate-the-man-but-his-vices/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [“An evil man without vices was the most dangerous of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-neelakantan/an-evil-man-without-vices-was-the-most-dangerous-of-all/) [Anand Neelakantan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-neelakantan/) > [It is the common vice of all, in old age, to be too intent upon our interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/it-is-the-common-vice-of-all-in-old-age-to-be-too-intent-upon-our/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [Martin, at my age, eroticism is reduced to enjoying caramel custard and looking at widows' necks.' - Senor Sempere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/martin-at-my-age-eroticism-is-reduced-to-enjoying-caramel-custard-and/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [People do not realize that Alzheimer's is not old age. 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Aged love is like aged wine; it becomes more satisfying, more refreshing, more valuable, more appreciated and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/relish-love-in-your-old-age-aged-love-is-like-aged-wine-it-becomes/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/cast-me-not-off-in-the-time-of-old-age-forsake-me-not-when-my/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) ## More by Carlos Ruiz Zafon > [“Our world will not die as a result of the bomb, as the papers say, it will die of laughter, of banality, of making a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/our-world-will-not-die-as-a-result-of-the-bomb-as-the-papers-say-it/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“I carried the trace of her lips, of her breath on my skin through streets full of faceless people escaping from offices and shops.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/i-carried-the-trace-of-her-lips-of-her-breath-on-my-skin-through/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“Nekada davno, u djetinjstvu, možda is toga što sam odrastao među knjigama i knjižarima, odlučio sam da želim postati pisac i živjeti životom punim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/nekada-davno-u-djetinjstvu-mo-da-is-toga-to-sam-odrastao-me-u/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“nations never see themselves clearly in the mirror, much less when war preys on their minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/nations-never-see-themselves-clearly-in-the-mirror-much-less-when-war/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [People might not agree with me, but I think a woman should have a feminine shape, something you can get your hands on. 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I see cities as organisms, as living creatures. To me, Madrid is a man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/the-haunting-of-history-is-ever-present-in-barcelona-i-see-cities-as/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Waiting is the rust of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/waiting-is-the-rust-of-the-soul/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“The main pillar of organized religion, with few exceptions, is the subjugation, repression, even the annulment of women in the group. Woman must accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/the-main-pillar-of-organized-religion-with-few-exceptions-is-the/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“Bea says that the art of reading is slowly dying, that it's an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/bea-says-that-the-art-of-reading-is-slowly-dying-that-it-s-an/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Human beings believe just as they breathe - in order to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/human-beings-believe-just-as-they-breathe-in-order-to-survive/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“Darwin was a dreamer, I can assure you. No evolution or anything of the sort. 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Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man must have vices, expensive ones if possible. 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