--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If those whom we begin to love could know…" description: "\"If those whom we begin to love could know us as we were before meeting them they could perceive what they have made of us.\" — Albert Camus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/albert-camus-47_made_if-those-whom-we-begin-to-love-could-kno_1122728.jpg" --- # If those whom we begin to love could know us as we were… ![“If those whom we begin to love could know us as we were before meeting them they could perceive what they have made of us.” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/albert-camus-47_made_if-those-whom-we-begin-to-love-could-kno_1122728.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/albert-camus-47_made_if-those-whom-we-begin-to-love-could-kno_1122728.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/albert-camus-47_made_if-those-whom-we-begin-to-love-could-kno_1122728.jpg) > “If those whom we begin to love could know us as we were before meeting them they could perceive what they have made of us.” [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding how others perceive us before intimacy reveals the fragile nature of identity and love. **In simple terms:** People’s early views shape how they see us later. Key Takeaway Cultivate authentic self‑presentation early. Themes identity love perception Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - first meetings - long‑term friendships - romantic partnerships Key Concepts existentialism psychology relationships Questions to Reflect On - How does early perception affect relationships? - Can we reshape others’ views? A Different Perspective People may change perception despite early impressions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Begin Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin-love-758170/) [Know Meeting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-meeting-2606038/) [Love Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-know/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Meeting Perceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meeting-perceive-2201558/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Perceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceive/) ## Related quotes > [Presence is in the eye and ear and gut of the beholder. When you are totally present in a conversation or in a meeting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-goulston/presence-is-in-the-eye-and-ear-and-gut-of-the-beholder-when-you-are/) [Mark Goulston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-goulston/) > [It’s funny, most people can be around someone and then gradually begin to love them and never know exactly when it happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-funny-most-people-can-be-around-someone-and-then-gradually-begin/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You never know meeting new people may be the highlight of your day :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savannah-j/you-never-know-meeting-new-people-may-be-the-highlight-of-your-day/) [Savannah J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savannah-j/) > [Meetings with no goal, also known as 'coffee shop' meetings, can be huge time wasters if you're not efficient with them. 'Always know why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cohen/meetings-with-no-goal-also-known-as-coffee-shop-meetings-can-be-huge/) [David Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cohen/) > [Before doing any interviews I like to know who I'm meeting with and get a bit of an idea of their sensibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/before-doing-any-interviews-i-like-to-know-who-i-m-meeting-with-and/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [There are different usage patterns - I never do email during the day. I don't multitask well at all. I don't know how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sundar-pichai/there-are-different-usage-patterns-i-never-do-email-during-the-day-i/) [Sundar Pichai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sundar-pichai/) > [Become a better person and be sure to know who you are, before meeting someone new and hoping that person knows who you are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/become-a-better-person-and-be-sure-to-know-who-you-are-before-meeting/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Do not demand love. Begin to love. You will be loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-rajagopalachari/do-not-demand-love-begin-to-love-you-will-be-loved/) [C. Rajagopalachari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-rajagopalachari/) > [Love is within us. It cannot be destroyed. It can be ignored. To the extent that we abandon love we will feel it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/love-is-within-us-it-cannot-be-destroyed-it-can-be-ignored-to-the/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [“Come, my darling, it is never too late to begin our love again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus-poetry/come-my-darling-it-is-never-too-late-to-begin-our-love-again/) [Atticus Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus-poetry/) > [“Maybe am too much on men, but sincerely, today’s man has literally grown indolent in love. He fast falls asleep even before night conversations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-otieno/maybe-am-too-much-on-men-but-sincerely-today-s-man-has-literally/) [F Otieno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-otieno/) > [“true love cannot begin until the in-love experience has run its course.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/true-love-cannot-begin-until-the-in-love-experience-has-run-its-course/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [“Death may be inevitable, but love is not. Love, you have to choose. I'll begin with that. With Love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-jordan/death-may-be-inevitable-but-love-is-not-love-you-have-to-choose-i-ll/) [Hillary Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-jordan/) > [I want you to find the poor here, right in your own home first. And begin love there. Be that good news to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/i-want-you-to-find-the-poor-here-right-in-your-own-home-first-and/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Having a man (or woman) to love should enhance your life, not define it. No matter how bad you may think you need a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/having-a-man-or-woman-to-love-should-enhance-your-life-not-define-it/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) ## More by Albert Camus > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Being is good, but getting rich is better… If the gods had only the riches of men's adoration, they would be as poor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/being-is-good-but-getting-rich-is-better-if-the-gods-had-only-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Having been, not only mutilated in our country, wounded in our very flesh, but also divested of our most beautiful images, for you gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/having-been-not-only-mutilated-in-our-country-wounded-in-our-very/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I've seen of enough of people who die for an idea. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-ve-seen-of-enough-of-people-who-die-for-an-idea-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The best are led to make greater demands upon themselves. As for those who succumb, they did not deserve to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-best-are-led-to-make-greater-demands-upon-themselves-as-for-those/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Then he asked me if I wasn’t interested in a change of life. I said that people never change their lives, that in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/then-he-asked-me-if-i-wasn-t-interested-in-a-change-of-life-i-said/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it's meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/life-is-meaningless-but-worth-living-provided-you-recognize-it-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Thinking of the future, establishing aims for oneself, having preferences-all this presupposes a belief in freedom, even if one occasionally ascertains that one doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/thinking-of-the-future-establishing-aims-for-oneself-having/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-explained-to-him-however-that-my-nature-was-such-that-my-physical/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-only-way-to-deal-with-an-unfree-world-is-to-become-so-absolutely/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“We love people not because for good they did for us, but for good we did for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/we-love-people-not-because-for-good-they-did-for-us-but-for-good-we/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [You have so much inside you, and the noblest happiness of all. Don’t just wait for a man to come along. That’s the mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/you-have-so-much-inside-you-and-the-noblest-happiness-of-all-don-t/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The desire for possession is insatiable, to such a point that it can survive even love itself. To love, therefore, is to sterilize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-desire-for-possession-is-insatiable-to-such-a-point-that-it-can/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) [Explore all 1,600 Albert Camus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More Made quotes > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [I made $225.81 a week as an accountant, and I went to $400 a week as a stand-up. I was up to $800 a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pinette/i-made-225-81-a-week-as-an-accountant-and-i-went-to-400-a-week-as-a/) [John Pinette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pinette/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, loved, and finely played, to have at last her own true music made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/each-woman-is-like-an-instrument-waiting-to-be-learned-loved-and/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [That's what this country is. It's made up of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-vinaite/that-s-what-this-country-is-it-s-made-up-of-immigrants/) [Bria Vinaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-vinaite/) > [ \[Islam\] Leaves no room of human legislation in an Islamic state, because herein all legislative functions vest in God and the only function left… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abul-a-la-maududi/islam-leaves-no-room-of-human-legislation-in-an-islamic-state-because/) [Abul A'la Maududi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abul-a-la-maududi/) > [It revealed a cruelty that really made one wonder if the universe was such a good idea after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/it-revealed-a-cruelty-that-really-made-one-wonder-if-the-universe-was/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) [Browse all 29,875 Made quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If those whom we begin to love could know us as we were before meeting them they could perceive what they have made of us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Albert Camus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/if-those-whom-we-begin-to-love-could-know-us-as-we-were-before/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Made" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/if-those-whom-we-begin-to-love-could-know-us-as-we-were-before/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/albert-camus-47_made_if-those-whom-we-begin-to-love-could-kno_1122728.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/albert-camus-47_made_if-those-whom-we-begin-to-love-could-kno_1122728.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/albert-camus-47_made_if-those-whom-we-begin-to-love-could-kno_1122728.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If those whom we begin to love could know us as we were before meeting them they could perceive what they…” — Albert Camus", "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": "Albert Camus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If those whom we begin to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/if-those-whom-we-begin-to-love-could-know-us-as-we-were-before/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/if-those-whom-we-begin-to-love-could-know-us-as-we-were-before/#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 } } ] } ```