--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am thinking of taking a fifth wife. Why…" description: "\"I am thinking of taking a fifth wife. Why not? Solomon had a thousand wives and he is a synonym for wisdom.\" — John Barrymore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/john-barrymore-20453_fifth_i-am-thinking-of-taking-a-fifth-wife-why_1647777.jpg" --- # I am thinking of taking a fifth wife. Why not? Solomon had… ![“I am thinking of taking a fifth wife. Why not? Solomon had a thousand wives and he is a synonym for wisdom.” quote by John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/john-barrymore-20453_fifth_i-am-thinking-of-taking-a-fifth-wife-why_1647777.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/john-barrymore-20453_fifth_i-am-thinking-of-taking-a-fifth-wife-why_1647777.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/john-barrymore-20453_fifth_i-am-thinking-of-taking-a-fifth-wife-why_1647777.jpg) > “I am thinking of taking a fifth wife. Why not? Solomon had a thousand wives and he is a synonym for wisdom.” [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker humorously justifies taking another wife by citing Solomon’s many wives as a precedent for wisdom. **In simple terms:** Uses biblical example to rationalize polygamy. Key Takeaway Question motives behind justifying actions. Themes humor tradition relationship ethics Mood playful critical Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - marriage discussions - cultural debates - personal relationships - historical analogies Key Concepts biblical reference rationalization social norms Questions to Reflect On - Is historical precedent a valid moral guide? - How does humor affect serious ethical discussions? A Different Perspective Modern ethics reject polygamy despite historical examples. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solomon/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Why not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why-not/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wives/) ## Related quotes > [And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/and-solomon-had-forty-thousand-stalls-of-horses-for-his-chariots-and/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [ When \[men\] see a pretty woman, and feel the delicious madness of love coming over them, they always stop to calculate her temper, her… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/when-men-see-a-pretty-woman-and-feel-the-delicious-madness-of-love/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [The closest synonym of happiness is excitement, and you can generate it by doing something that you can't completely comprehend. This understanding makes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushant-singh-rajput/the-closest-synonym-of-happiness-is-excitement-and-you-can-generate/) [Sushant Singh Rajput](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushant-singh-rajput/) > [To call the world God is not to explain it; it is only to enrich our language with a superfluous synonym.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/to-call-the-world-god-is-not-to-explain-it-it-is-only-to-enrich-our/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Maybe to try to understand not just that we are living in a certain building or in a certain location, but to become aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/maybe-to-try-to-understand-not-just-that-we-are-living-in-a-certain/) [Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/) > [Our political establishment refuses to use the word 'segregated.' They call the schools diverse, which means half black, half Hispanic, and maybe two white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/our-political-establishment-refuses-to-use-the-word-segregated-they/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [What I like most about change is that it's a synonym for 'hope'. If you're taking a risk, what you are really saying is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ellerbee/what-i-like-most-about-change-is-that-it-s-a-synonym-for-hope-if-you/) [Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/) > [Mother is a synonym for abandonment and death. Comparing this synonym to water, it is like poured-out water. I call it mother, the identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyesoon/mother-is-a-synonym-for-abandonment-and-death-comparing-this-synonym/) [Kim Hyesoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyesoon/) > [People do complain about the way I act on stage... They think on stage I act too arrogant, too self-obsessed, solecistic, self-contained, synonyms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/people-do-complain-about-the-way-i-act-on-stage-they-think-on-stage-i/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [I'd rather fiddle with my phone for precious seconds than neglect an apostrophe; I'd rather insert a word laboriously keyed out than resort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-d-rather-fiddle-with-my-phone-for-precious-seconds-than-neglect-an/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/a-synonym-is-a-word-you-use-when-you-can-t-spell-the-other-one/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Providence and Manifest Destiny are synonyms often invoked to support arguments based on wishful thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/providence-and-manifest-destiny-are-synonyms-often-invoked-to-support/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Is there another word for synonym?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/is-there-another-word-for-synonym/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) ## More by John Barrymore > [America is the country where you can buy a lifetime supply of aspirin For one dollar and use it up in two weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/america-is-the-country-where-you-can-buy-a-lifetime-supply-of-aspirin/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [In Genesis, it says that it is not good for a man to be alone; but sometimes it is a great relief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/in-genesis-it-says-that-it-is-not-good-for-a-man-to-be-alone-but/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [My head is buried in the sands of tomorrow, while my tail feathers are singed by the hot sun of today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/my-head-is-buried-in-the-sands-of-tomorrow-while-my-tail-feathers-are/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [I would like to find a stew that will give me heartburn immediately, instead of at three o clock in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/i-would-like-to-find-a-stew-that-will-give-me-heartburn-immediately/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [ Mr. \[John\] Barrymore's smile was the smile of an actor who hates actors, and who knows that he is going to kill two or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/mr-john-barrymore-s-smile-was-the-smile-of-an-actor-who-hates-actors/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [Why is there so much month left at the end of the money?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/why-is-there-so-much-month-left-at-the-end-of-the-money/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [When archaeologists discover the missing arms of Venus de Milo, they will find she was wearing boxing gloves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/when-archaeologists-discover-the-missing-arms-of-venus-de-milo-they/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [“happiness always sneaks in through a door you din't know you left open”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/happiness-always-sneaks-in-through-a-door-you-din-t-know-you-left-open/) [john barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [He neither drank, smoked, nor rode a bicycle. Living frugally, saving his money, he died early, surrounded by greedy relatives. It was a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/he-neither-drank-smoked-nor-rode-a-bicycle-living-frugally-saving-his/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [If it isn't the sheriff, it's the finance company; I've got more attachments on me than a vacuum cleaner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/if-it-isn-t-the-sheriff-it-s-the-finance-company-i-ve-got-more/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [Method acting? There are quite a few methods. Mine involves a lot of talent, a glass, and some cracked ice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/method-acting-there-are-quite-a-few-methods-mine-involves-a-lot-of/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [Paper napkins never return from a laundry - nor love from a trip to the law courts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/paper-napkins-never-return-from-a-laundry-nor-love-from-a-trip-to-the/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [My wife is the kind of girl who will not go anywhere without her mother, and her mother will go anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/my-wife-is-the-kind-of-girl-who-will-not-go-anywhere-without-her/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [Sex: the thing that takes up the least amount of time and causes the most amount of trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/sex-the-thing-that-takes-up-the-least-amount-of-time-and-causes-the/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [The good die young, because they see it's no use living if you have got to be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/the-good-die-young-because-they-see-it-s-no-use-living-if-you-have/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) [Explore all 31 John Barrymore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) ## More Fifth quotes > [First action was a mistake. 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