--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Masters are great but books are better…" description: "\"“Masters are great but books are better. He who has a library has a thousand teachers. Your Prophet said, “Seek lore, even if it be in China.” Mine sai..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6a/elif-shafak-1594_books_masters-are-great-but-books-are-better-h_2451124.jpg" --- # Masters are great but books are better. He who has a… ![“Masters are great but books are better. He who has a library has a thousand teachers. Your Prophet said, “Seek lore, even if it be in China.” Mine said, “God created us because He wanted to be known.” Ignorant men think we are here to fight and make wars and to couple and have children. Nay, our…” quote by Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6a/elif-shafak-1594_books_masters-are-great-but-books-are-better-h_2451124.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6a/elif-shafak-1594_books_masters-are-great-but-books-are-better-h_2451124.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6a/elif-shafak-1594_books_masters-are-great-but-books-are-better-h_2451124.jpg) > ““Masters are great but books are better. He who has a library has a thousand teachers. Your Prophet said, “Seek lore, even if it be in China.” Mine said, “God created us because He wanted to be known.” Ignorant men think we are here to fight and make wars and to couple and have children. Nay, our job is to expand our knowledge.”” [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books provide countless teachers; seeking knowledge is a divine pursuit beyond conflict and reproduction **In simple terms:** Books are teachers; knowledge expands humanity Key Takeaway Prioritize learning over conflict Themes knowledge spirituality peace Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - reading - academic study - interfaith dialogue - personal development Key Concepts Education DivinePurpose Humanity Questions to Reflect On - How does reading shape moral perspective? - Can knowledge replace warfare? A Different Perspective Knowledge alone cannot solve all problems ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Expand Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expand-knowledge-571310/) [God Created](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-created/) [Ignorant Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant-men-571311/) [Prophet Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophet-said-571309/) [Said God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-god/) [Teachers Prophet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teachers-prophet-571308/) ## Related quotes > [Prepare for joy - speak your truth, care for yourself, expand your knowledge, nurture your friendships, let people love you, take on new adventures,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-sophia-kasl/prepare-for-joy-speak-your-truth-care-for-yourself-expand-your/) [Charlotte Sophia Kasl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-sophia-kasl/) > [Your perspective is always limited by how much you know. Expand your knowledge and you will transform your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-h-lipton/your-perspective-is-always-limited-by-how-much-you-know-expand-your/) [Bruce H. Lipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-h-lipton/) > [From an early stage in my career, if you're talking about picking up knowledge, it would have been via Ian Greaves who was involved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-allardyce/from-an-early-stage-in-my-career-if-you-re-talking-about-picking-up/) [Sam Allardyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-allardyce/) > [“I bet if I spent less time with the television and more time pursuing activities that enhance my life and expand my knowledge, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-lancaster/i-bet-if-i-spent-less-time-with-the-television-and-more-time-pursuing/) [Jen Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-lancaster/) > [As we expand our knowledge of good books, we shrink the circle of men whose company we appreciate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/as-we-expand-our-knowledge-of-good-books-we-shrink-the-circle-of-men/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [Knowledge grows exponentially. The more we know, the greater our ability to learn, and the faster we expand our knowledge base.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/knowledge-grows-exponentially-the-more-we-know-the-greater-our/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [In every job, in every assignment, in every situation, look for ways to expand you knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranjana-clark/in-every-job-in-every-assignment-in-every-situation-look-for-ways-to/) [Ranjana Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranjana-clark/) > [“And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man. Mud as man alone could speak. God leaned close as mud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-god-created-every-living-creature-that-now-moveth-and-one-was-man/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in His cosmic loneliness. And God said, "Let Us make living creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/in-the-beginning-god-created-the-earth-and-he-looked-upon-it-in-his/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You never believed in God, Doc, did you? You said if God created man in His image, why couldn't man invent a God that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/you-never-believed-in-god-doc-did-you-you-said-if-god-created-man-in/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [I am an agnostic; I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/i-am-an-agnostic-i-do-not-pretend-to-know-what-many-ignorant-men-are/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Ignorant men raise questions that wise men answered a thousand years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/ignorant-men-raise-questions-that-wise-men-answered-a-thousand-years/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Ignorant men do not know what good they hold in their hands until they've flung it away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/ignorant-men-do-not-know-what-good-they-hold-in-their-hands-until/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Ignorant men differ from beasts only in their figure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleanthes/ignorant-men-differ-from-beasts-only-in-their-figure/) [Cleanthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleanthes/) > [Machines can only find what ignorant men have programmed them to find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poul-anderson/machines-can-only-find-what-ignorant-men-have-programmed-them-to-find/) [Poul Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poul-anderson/) ## More by Elif Shafak > [“Od nje je naučio dvije osnovne stvari o ljubavi: prvo, da je, za razliku od onoga što romantici tako naduto tvrde, ljubav više postupan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/od-nje-je-nau-io-dvije-osnovne-stvari-o-ljubavi-prvo-da-je-za-razliku/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“Why roots were rated so highly compared with branches or leaves, Peri had never understood. Trees had multiple shoots and filaments extending in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/why-roots-were-rated-so-highly-compared-with-branches-or-leaves-peri/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“How could they be so certain of the superiority of their truths when they knew so little, if anything at all, about other cultures,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/how-could-they-be-so-certain-of-the-superiority-of-their-truths-when/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“When you master a language, you are given the key to a castle. What you’ll find inside depends on you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/when-you-master-a-language-you-are-given-the-key-to-a-castle-what-you/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“Her insanın erafında bir renk halesi vardır. Seninkini biliyor musun?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/her-insan-n-eraf-nda-bir-renk-halesi-vard-r-seninkini-biliyor-musun/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“I'm not one of those pious types who spend their whole lives hunched on prayer rugs while their eyes and hearts remain closed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/i-m-not-one-of-those-pious-types-who-spend-their-whole-lives-hunched/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“England has a peculiar way of making foreigners feel exhilaratingly free and depressingly alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/england-has-a-peculiar-way-of-making-foreigners-feel-exhilaratingly/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“There are things so awful in this world that the good-hearted people, may Allah bless them all, have absolutely no idea of. And that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/there-are-things-so-awful-in-this-world-that-the-good-hearted-people/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“Irrationality is part of everyday rationale”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/irrationality-is-part-of-everyday-rationale/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“In love, boundaries are blurred.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/in-love-boundaries-are-blurred/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“It had just hit her why and how people could fall in love with Istanbul, in spite of all the sorrow it might cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/it-had-just-hit-her-why-and-how-people-could-fall-in-love-with/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“Inside, I found three things: a silver mirror, a silk handkerchief, and a glass flask of ointment. These items will help you on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/inside-i-found-three-things-a-silver-mirror-a-silk-handkerchief-and-a/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“Talent is a favor of the divine. To perfect it one must work hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/talent-is-a-favor-of-the-divine-to-perfect-it-one-must-work-hard/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“level, they use this as a poor excuse to disregard the rules of the sharia. Drinking, dancing, music, poetry, and painting”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/level-they-use-this-as-a-poor-excuse-to-disregard-the-rules-of-the/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“In many parts of the world you were what you said and what you did and, also, what you read; in Turkey, as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/in-many-parts-of-the-world-you-were-what-you-said-and-what-you-did/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) [Explore all 180 Elif Shafak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [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 have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Masters are great but books are better. He who has a library has a thousand teachers. Your Prophet said, “Seek lore, even if it be in China.” Mine said, “God created us because He wanted to be known.” Ignorant men think we are here to fight and make wars and to couple and have children. 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