--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One must, so long as there is any life…" description: "\"One must, so long as there is any life left, back up the character of one's life.\" — Madame de Stael" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/madame-de-stael-2069_character_one-must-so-long-as-there-is-any-life-le_868313.jpg" --- # One must, so long as there is any life left, back up the… ![“One must, so long as there is any life left, back up the character of one's life.” quote by Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/madame-de-stael-2069_character_one-must-so-long-as-there-is-any-life-le_868313.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/madame-de-stael-2069_character_one-must-so-long-as-there-is-any-life-le_868313.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/madame-de-stael-2069_character_one-must-so-long-as-there-is-any-life-le_868313.jpg) > “One must, so long as there is any life left, back up the character of one's life.” [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One should preserve one's character as long as life remains. **In simple terms:** Preserve character while alive. Key Takeaway Maintain integrity throughout life. Themes integrity resilience life Mood reflective steady Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - career - health - relationships - adversity Key Concepts ethical philosophy personal development Questions to Reflect On - What habits protect your character? - How do you rebuild character after failure? A Different Perspective Character can erode under pressure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Long life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-life/) ## Related quotes > [Without love no life left on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lewis/without-love-no-life-left-on-earth/) Donna Lewis > [“That fever had passed; but for the rest of his life it never left his eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gaddis/that-fever-had-passed-but-for-the-rest-of-his-life-it-never-left-his/) [William Gaddis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gaddis/) > [If you fall into water, you may still be saved. But if you fall down in literary matters, there is no life left for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-jo-napoli/if-you-fall-into-water-you-may-still-be-saved-but-if-you-fall-down-in/) [Donna Jo Napoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-jo-napoli/) > [“Life has left no marks on him, because he hasn't paid much attention to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/life-has-left-no-marks-on-him-because-he-hasn-t-paid-much-attention/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Life left us all where we were meant to be or where it was convenient to leave us and then forgot us, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/life-left-us-all-where-we-were-meant-to-be-or-where-it-was-convenient/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Taking responsibility for your own life is not a Left wing idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/taking-responsibility-for-your-own-life-is-not-a-left-wing-idea/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [I have to go. I have a finite amount of life left and I don't want to spend it arguing with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-armintrout/i-have-to-go-i-have-a-finite-amount-of-life-left-and-i-don-t-want-to/) [Jennifer Armintrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-armintrout/) > [If the bees disappear, man would have only four years of life left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/if-the-bees-disappear-man-would-have-only-four-years-of-life-left/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“She's not trying to prepare us for her death. She's trying to prepare us for her life. For what she has left of it."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/she-s-not-trying-to-prepare-us-for-her-death-she-s-trying-to-prepare/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“It's easier to go on living a life without any life left in it, than it is to just say 'fuck it' and leave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/it-s-easier-to-go-on-living-a-life-without-any-life-left-in-it-than/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“If men had to have babies there wouldn’t be any sex life left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorne-smith/if-men-had-to-have-babies-there-wouldn-t-be-any-sex-life-left/) [Thorne Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorne-smith/) > [Today, you have 100% of your life left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-you-have-100-of-your-life-left/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The clock strikes off the hollow half-hours of all the life that is left to you, one by one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-clock-strikes-off-the-hollow-half-hours-of-all-the-life-that-is/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“Professor Jenson had one goal in life: to be left alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-m-kaufman/professor-jenson-had-one-goal-in-life-to-be-left-alone/) Heather M. Kaufman > [“The life left unanalyzed was a happy one, someone had said, or should have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-k-lentz/the-life-left-unanalyzed-was-a-happy-one-someone-had-said-or-should/) P.K. Lentz ## More by Madame de Stael > [Good taste cannot supply the place of genius in literature, for the best proof of taste, when there is no genius, would be, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/good-taste-cannot-supply-the-place-of-genius-in-literature-for-the/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [There is no reality on this earth except religion and the power of love; all the rest is even more fugitive than life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/there-is-no-reality-on-this-earth-except-religion-and-the-power-of/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [in Italy, almost at every step, history and poetry add to the graces of nature, sweeten the memory of the past, and seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/in-italy-almost-at-every-step-history-and-poetry-add-to-the-graces-of/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [ \[Ridicule\] laughs at all those who see the earnestness of life and who still believe in true feelings and in serious thought ... It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/ridicule-laughs-at-all-those-who-see-the-earnestness-of-life-and-who/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Ought not every woman, like every man, to follow the bent of her own talents?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/ought-not-every-woman-like-every-man-to-follow-the-bent-of-her-own/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [The more we know the better we forgive. Whoever feels deeply, feels for all who live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-more-we-know-the-better-we-forgive-whoever-feels-deeply-feels-for/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Let us then blend everything: love, religion, genius, with sunshine, perfume, music, and poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/let-us-then-blend-everything-love-religion-genius-with-sunshine/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Man's most valuable faculty is his imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/man-s-most-valuable-faculty-is-his-imagination/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Taste is to literature what bon ton is in society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/taste-is-to-literature-what-bon-ton-is-in-society/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [A voyage without companionship, that is to say without conversation, is one of the saddest pleasures of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/a-voyage-without-companionship-that-is-to-say-without-conversation-is/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [However old a conjugal union, it still garners some sweetness. Winter has some cloudless days, and under the snow a few flowers still bloom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/however-old-a-conjugal-union-it-still-garners-some-sweetness-winter/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [The sight of such a monument is like continual and stationary music, which one hears for one's good as one approaches it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-sight-of-such-a-monument-is-like-continual-and-stationary-music/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [If we would succeed in works of the imagination, we must offer a mild morality in the midst of rigid manners; but where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/if-we-would-succeed-in-works-of-the-imagination-we-must-offer-a-mild/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Innocence in genius, and candor in power, are both noble qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/innocence-in-genius-and-candor-in-power-are-both-noble-qualities/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [“The human mind always makes progress, but it is a progress made in spirals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-human-mind-always-makes-progress-but-it-is-a-progress-made-in/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) [Explore all 187 Madame de Stael quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One must, so long as there is any life left, back up the character of one's life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Madame de Stael" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/one-must-so-long-as-there-is-any-life-left-back-up-the-character-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/one-must-so-long-as-there-is-any-life-left-back-up-the-character-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/madame-de-stael-2069_character_one-must-so-long-as-there-is-any-life-le_868313.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/madame-de-stael-2069_character_one-must-so-long-as-there-is-any-life-le_868313.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/madame-de-stael-2069_character_one-must-so-long-as-there-is-any-life-le_868313.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One must, so long as there is any life left, back up the character of one's life.” — Madame de Stael", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Madame de Stael", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One must, so long as there...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/one-must-so-long-as-there-is-any-life-left-back-up-the-character-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/one-must-so-long-as-there-is-any-life-left-back-up-the-character-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```