---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If people waited to know one another…"
description: "\"If people waited to know one another before they married, the world wouldn't be as overpopulated as it is now.\" — W. Somerset Maugham"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/w-somerset-maugham-237_ifs_if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-bef_2392505.jpg"
---

#  If people waited to know one another before they married…

![“If people waited to know one another before they married, the world wouldn't be as overpopulated as it is now.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/w-somerset-maugham-237_ifs_if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-bef_2392505.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/w-somerset-maugham-237_ifs_if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-bef_2392505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/w-somerset-maugham-237_ifs_if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-bef_2392505.jpg)

> “If people waited to know one another before they married, the world wouldn't be as overpopulated as it is now.”

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

If people truly knew each other before marriage, fewer would marry, reducing population growth.

**In simple terms:** Knowing partners deeply could lower marriage rates.

Key Takeaway

Encourage deeper pre‑marital understanding.

Themes

marriage population knowledge

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- online dating
- arranged marriages
- relationship counseling

Key Concepts

sociology demography

Questions to Reflect On

- How much should we know before committing?
- What other factors affect marriage rates?

A Different Perspective

People may still marry despite knowledge.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [If people waited to know one another before they married, the world wouldn't be so grossly over-populated as it is now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-somerset-maugham/if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-before-they-married-the-world/)

[William Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-somerset-maugham/)

> [There are a lot of people who waited a lot of years to become citizens. These people just walked across the border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-williams/there-are-a-lot-of-people-who-waited-a-lot-of-years-to-become/)

Alvin Williams

> [“Ordinary people waited till life disclosed to them its secrets, but to the few, to the elect, the mysteries of life were revealed before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/ordinary-people-waited-till-life-disclosed-to-them-its-secrets-but-to-2/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-s-the-answer-told-by-lines-that-stretched-around-schools-and/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [“In Ukraine’s cities—Kharkiv, Kiev, Stalino, Dnipropetrovsk—hundreds of thousands of people waited each day for a simple loaf of bread. In Kharkiv, the republic’s capital,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/in-ukraine-s-cities-kharkiv-kiev-stalino-dnipropetrovsk-hundreds-of/)

[Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/)

> [Are people crazy? People waited all their lives. They waited to live, they waited to die. They waited in line to buy toilet paper.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/are-people-crazy-people-waited-all-their-lives-they-waited-to-live/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [Wyman's overpopulated universe is in many ways unlovely. It offends the aesthetic sense of us who have a taste for desert landscapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/wyman-s-overpopulated-universe-is-in-many-ways-unlovely-it-offends/)

[Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/)

> [“We’re all geniuses. Life is merely overpopulated with singers who play drums, and, drummers who sing, to pay rent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/we-re-all-geniuses-life-is-merely-overpopulated-with-singers-who-play/)

[Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)

> [People have not made the connection that the more of us there are, the more greenhouse gases go into the atmosphere. The Chinese have.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/people-have-not-made-the-connection-that-the-more-of-us-there-are-the/)

[Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/)

> [L.A. ispolluted. It's overpopulated. But it is very much home. It was inevitable for me, the moving back. I was living in San Francisco,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/l-a-ispolluted-it-s-overpopulated-but-it-is-very-much-home-it-was/)

[James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/)

> [I think some people can't understand why you wouldn't want kids but I can't see any advantages at all. We're overpopulated as it is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-morgan/i-think-some-people-can-t-understand-why-you-wouldn-t-want-kids-but-i/)

[Diane Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-morgan/)

> [The way to do great science is to stay away from subjects that are overpopulated, and go to the frontiers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-watson/the-way-to-do-great-science-is-to-stay-away-from-subjects-that-are/)

[James D. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-d-watson/)

> [I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-m-yet-another-resource-consuming-kid-in-an-overpopulated-planet/)

[Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/)

> [Are the prisons overpopulated, or is the population over-imprisoned ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/are-the-prisons-overpopulated-or-is-the-population-over-imprisoned/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [So somebody has talent? So what? Dime a dozen. And we're overpopulated. Actually we have more food than we have people and more art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/so-somebody-has-talent-so-what-dime-a-dozen-and-we-re-overpopulated/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

## More by W. Somerset Maugham

> [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

[Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

## More Ifs quotes

> [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/)

[Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/)

> [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/)

[Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/)

> [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/)

[Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/)

> [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/)

[Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/)

> [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/)

[L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/)

> [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/)

[Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/)

> [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/)

[Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/)

> [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/)

[Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/)

> [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/)

[Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/)

> [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/)

[William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/)

> [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/)

[Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/)

> [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/)

[Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/)

> [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/)

Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If people waited to know one another before they married, the world wouldn't be as overpopulated as it is now.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "W. Somerset Maugham"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-before-they-married-the-world-2/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ifs"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-before-they-married-the-world-2/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/w-somerset-maugham-237_ifs_if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-bef_2392505.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/w-somerset-maugham-237_ifs_if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-bef_2392505.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/w-somerset-maugham-237_ifs_if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-bef_2392505.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If people waited to know one another before they married, the world wouldn't be as overpopulated as it is now.” — W. Somerset Maugham",
                "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": "W. Somerset Maugham",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If people waited to know one...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-before-they-married-the-world-2/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-people-waited-to-know-one-another-before-they-married-the-world-2/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
