--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For to know a man's library is, in some…" description: "\"“For to know a man's library is, in some measure, to know his mind.”\" — Geraldine Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/geraldine-brooks-1324_library_for-to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-m_2670519.png" --- # For to know a man's library is, in some measure, to know… ![“For to know a man's library is, in some measure, to know his mind.” quote by Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/geraldine-brooks-1324_library_for-to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-m_2670519.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/geraldine-brooks-1324_library_for-to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-m_2670519.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/geraldine-brooks-1324_library_for-to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-m_2670519.png) > ““For to know a man's library is, in some measure, to know his mind.”” [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person's books reflect their thoughts, revealing much about their intellect and personality. **In simple terms:** Books show a mind’s character. Key Takeaway Read to understand others. Themes knowledge identity literature psychology culture Mood inquisitive analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career counseling - education - friendship - self‑reflection Key Concepts intellectual profile reading habits personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What does your reading list say about you? - How can we infer values from literature? A Different Perspective Not all minds are fully expressed in books. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Know Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-man/) [Know Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-mind/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Library Measure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library-measure-1867504/) [Man Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-library-1867502/) [Measure Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-know-627791/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [To know a man's library is, in some measure, to know a man's mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-measure-to-know-a-man-s-mind/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it feels about education.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-howe/what-a-school-thinks-about-its-library-is-a-measure-of-what-it-feels/) [Harold Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-howe/) > [“The richest person in the world - in fact, all the riches in the world - couldn't provide you with anything like the endless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/the-richest-person-in-the-world-in-fact-all-the-riches-in-the-world/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [Your life will not measure by what you know. It will only be measured by what you do. And how you feel about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/your-life-will-not-measure-by-what-you-know-it-will-only-be-measured/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [“we figure out what we need to learn, use innovation accounting to figure out what we need to measure to know if we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ries/we-figure-out-what-we-need-to-learn-use-innovation-accounting-to/) [Eric Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ries/) > [For so it is, O Lord my God, I measure it! But what it is I measure, I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-so-it-is-o-lord-my-god-i-measure-it-but-what-it-is-i-measure-i-do/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [To measure is to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/to-measure-is-to-know/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [We cannot measure, what it is we do not know to value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-solis/we-cannot-measure-what-it-is-we-do-not-know-to-value/) [Brian Solis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-solis/) > [“Nothing is so intimately a part of a man as his library. It contains just what the possessor wants to look at most often,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/nothing-is-so-intimately-a-part-of-a-man-as-his-library-it-contains/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [The man who has a library of his own collection is able to contemplate himself objectively, and is justified in believing in his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/the-man-who-has-a-library-of-his-own-collection-is-able-to/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [My great-grandfather was a self-taught man, and his library was extraordinary. I read the lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/my-great-grandfather-was-a-self-taught-man-and-his-library-was/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) > [Me, poor man, my library Was dukedom large enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/me-poor-man-my-library-was-dukedom-large-enough/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are other books in a man's library besides Ovid, and after dawdling ever so long at a woman's knee, one day he gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/there-are-other-books-in-a-man-s-library-besides-ovid-and-after/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [A man's library is a sort of harem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-s-library-is-a-sort-of-harem/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [But what can a man see of a library being one day in it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/but-what-can-a-man-see-of-a-library-being-one-day-in-it/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) ## More by Geraldine Brooks > [“The word for mother, umm, is the root of the words for “source, nation, mercy, first principle, rich harvest; stupid, illiterate, parasite, weak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-word-for-mother-umm-is-the-root-of-the-words-for-source-nation/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“The lieutenant colonel wondered if the high scores reflected a defect in the newly built shooting range at the women’s academy. To find out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-lieutenant-colonel-wondered-if-the-high-scores-reflected-a-defect/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“No wonder simple men have always had their gods dwell in the high places. For as soon as a man lets his eye drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/no-wonder-simple-men-have-always-had-their-gods-dwell-in-the-high/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [I was really interested in how marriages work, how you can, you know, be in love with somebody and spend many years with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/i-was-really-interested-in-how-marriages-work-how-you-can-you-know-be/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [Writing is like bricklaying; you put down one word after another. Sometimes the wall goes up straight and true and sometimes it doesn't and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/writing-is-like-bricklaying-you-put-down-one-word-after-another/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“... So this was how it was to be, now: I would do my best to live in the quick world, but the ghosts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/so-this-was-how-it-was-to-be-now-i-would-do-my-best-to-live-in-the/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“They threw rotten fruit at me and told me next time it would be acid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/they-threw-rotten-fruit-at-me-and-told-me-next-time-it-would-be-acid/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“You," he continued, grabbing my wrist. "All of you, from the safe world, with your air bags and your tamper-proof packaging and your fat-free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/you-he-continued-grabbing-my-wrist-all-of-you-from-the-safe-world/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“This is how an owl must look to a mouse in that last second before the talons sink into the flesh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/this-is-how-an-owl-must-look-to-a-mouse-in-that-last-second-before/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [And so, as generally happens, those who have most give least, and those with less somehow make shrift to share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/and-so-as-generally-happens-those-who-have-most-give-least-and-those/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“The author of this text did not write to provoke, but merely to express a truth as he conceives it. Your own theologians have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-author-of-this-text-did-not-write-to-provoke-but-merely-to/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“So, you are happy to be a pigeon?” “Maybe so. But at least a pigeon does no harm. The hawk lives at the expense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/so-you-are-happy-to-be-a-pigeon-maybe-so-but-at-least-a-pigeon-does/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“Many men believe in the saying that educating women is like allowing the nose of the camel into the tent: eventually the beast will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/many-men-believe-in-the-saying-that-educating-women-is-like-allowing/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“No, no,” he said. “She can’t raise it at all. She may only clap. Women must be very careful of their voices. If”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/no-no-he-said-she-can-t-raise-it-at-all-she-may-only-clap-women-must/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [If a man is to lose his fortune, it is a good thing if he were poor before he acquired it, for poverty requires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/if-a-man-is-to-lose-his-fortune-it-is-a-good-thing-if-he-were-poor/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) [Explore all 256 Geraldine Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) ## More Library quotes > [“Note found in the patron suggestion box: "You have SIGNS up near the computers that say BE QUIET, but people don't be quiet. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-sheridan/note-found-in-the-patron-suggestion-box-you-have-signs-up-near-the/) [Gina Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-sheridan/) > [If, as I anticipate, a wide array of personal, portable information/communication devices becomes increasingly important and widespread for information-intensive users, it will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-as-i-anticipate-a-wide-array-of-personal-portable-information/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [“She might ban me from the library." "The marvelous thing about libraries is that their contents can be easily moved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/she-might-ban-me-from-the-library-the-marvelous-thing-about-libraries/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) > [Library: A place where the dead lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/library-a-place-where-the-dead-lie/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The library is…a university of the people, from which the students are never graduated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-sharp/the-library-is-a-university-of-the-people-from-which-the-students-are/) [Katharine Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-sharp/) > [My office in New York is overflowing with all kinds of cookbooks, and in New Orleans we have a huge culinary library. So yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeril-lagasse/my-office-in-new-york-is-overflowing-with-all-kinds-of-cookbooks-and/) [Emeril Lagasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeril-lagasse/) > [If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/if-you-want-to-get-laid-go-to-college-if-you-want-an-education-go-to/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [“She'd always been a little excitable, a little more passionate about books than your average person, but she was supposed to be -- she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-beth-durst/she-d-always-been-a-little-excitable-a-little-more-passionate-about/) [Sarah Beth Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-beth-durst/) > [If truth is beauty, how come no one has their hair done in a library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/if-truth-is-beauty-how-come-no-one-has-their-hair-done-in-a-library/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [What people actually refer to as research is really just Googling. I already have a complicated relationship with research. It used to be going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dermot-mulroney/what-people-actually-refer-to-as-research-is-really-just-googling-i/) [Dermot Mulroney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dermot-mulroney/) > [“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/censors-don-t-want-children-exposed-to-ideas-different-from-their-own/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [“You can’t learn to write in college. It’s a very bad place for writers because the teachers always think they know more than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-can-t-learn-to-write-in-college-it-s-a-very-bad-place-for-writers/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The pride and presence of a professional football team is far more important than 30 libraries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-modell/the-pride-and-presence-of-a-professional-football-team-is-far-more/) [Art Modell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-modell/) > [Don't forget to support your public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-forget-to-support-your-public-library/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) [Browse all 2,696 Library quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For to know a man's library is, in some measure, to know his mind.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Geraldine Brooks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/for-to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-measure-to-know-his-mind/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Library" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/for-to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-measure-to-know-his-mind/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/geraldine-brooks-1324_library_for-to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-m_2670519.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/geraldine-brooks-1324_library_for-to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-m_2670519.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/geraldine-brooks-1324_library_for-to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-m_2670519.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For to know a man's library is, in some measure, to know his mind.” — Geraldine Brooks", "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": "Geraldine Brooks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For to know a man's library...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/for-to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-measure-to-know-his-mind/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/for-to-know-a-man-s-library-is-in-some-measure-to-know-his-mind/#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 } } ] } ```