--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a library, only the stupid or the…" description: "\"It's a library, only the stupid or the evil are afraid of those\" — Iain Banks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47a/iain-banks-3752_evil_it-s-a-library-only-the-stupid-or-the-ev_1983884.png" --- # It's a library, only the stupid or the evil are afraid of… ![“It's a library, only the stupid or the evil are afraid of those” quote by Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47a/iain-banks-3752_evil_it-s-a-library-only-the-stupid-or-the-ev_1983884.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47a/iain-banks-3752_evil_it-s-a-library-only-the-stupid-or-the-ev_1983884.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47a/iain-banks-3752_evil_it-s-a-library-only-the-stupid-or-the-ev_1983884.png) > “It's a library, only the stupid or the evil are afraid of those” [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear of knowledge or power stems from ignorance or malice, leading to oppression of the uninformed. **In simple terms:** Stupid or evil fear knowledge. Key Takeaway Seek truth, resist fear. Themes knowledge power fear Mood cautious critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - education reform - media literacy - political discourse Key Concepts censorship authoritarianism Questions to Reflect On - How does fear shape your view of information? - What role does power play in silencing dissent? A Different Perspective Fear can be rational when safety is at stake. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-afraid-3052734/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Library Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library-stupid-3402980/) [Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid/) [Stupid Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid-evil-2698639/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“It's like a sealed, forgotten chamber in me; I shan't feel complete until I've discovered its entrance.' 'Sounds like a tomb. Aren't you afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/it-s-like-a-sealed-forgotten-chamber-in-me-i-shan-t-feel-complete/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [My parents were really poor. We never bought books because you could go to the library. It would be stupid to buy one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-macy/my-parents-were-really-poor-we-never-bought-books-because-you-could/) [Beth Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-macy/) > [“Somebody on the Internet thinks what you do is stupid or evil, or it's all been done before? Make good art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/somebody-on-the-internet-thinks-what-you-do-is-stupid-or-evil-or-it-s/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [George Bush is not stupid. He's evil. OK? There's a huge difference between stupid and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patton-oswalt/george-bush-is-not-stupid-he-s-evil-ok-there-s-a-huge-difference/) [Patton Oswalt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patton-oswalt/) > [The self-righteous supporters of mass immigration think the rest of us are stupid and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hitchens/the-self-righteous-supporters-of-mass-immigration-think-the-rest-of/) [Peter Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hitchens/) > [“The truth is nobody here is as stupid or evil as I let on. Except me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-truth-is-nobody-here-is-as-stupid-or-evil-as-i-let-on-except-me/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Passivity is a tacit endorsement of evil we are too afraid to oppose actively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-baker/passivity-is-a-tacit-endorsement-of-evil-we-are-too-afraid-to-oppose/) [Julien Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-baker/) > [Truth is the greatest weapon to hold against any kind of enemy. Every evil is afraid of TRUTH.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/truth-is-the-greatest-weapon-to-hold-against-any-kind-of-enemy-every/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [The violence and injustice of the rulers of mankind is an ancient evil, for which, I am afraid, the nature of human affairs can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/the-violence-and-injustice-of-the-rulers-of-mankind-is-an-ancient/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Instead of using this space to pretend the newly released CIA 'torture' report confirms that the United States is the most evil nation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-limbaugh/instead-of-using-this-space-to-pretend-the-newly-released-cia-torture/) [David Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-limbaugh/) > [The problem with movies and books is they make evil look glamorous, exciting, when it's no such thing. It's boring and it's depressing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/the-problem-with-movies-and-books-is-they-make-evil-look-glamorous/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [I guess I kinda lost control, because in the middle of the play I ran up and lit the evil puppet villain on fire.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-guess-i-kinda-lost-control-because-in-the-middle-of-the-play-i-ran/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How dare you? How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault? It's not right, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/how-dare-you-how-dare-you-create-a-world-in-which-there-is-such/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [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/) > [“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/) ## More by Iain Banks > [I'm not a great believer in awards-of course the fact that I've never won one has nothing to do with it at all!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/i-m-not-a-great-believer-in-awards-of-course-the-fact-that-i-ve-never/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“Looking at me, you'd never guess I'd killed three people. It isn't fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/looking-at-me-you-d-never-guess-i-d-killed-three-people-it-isn-t-fair/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [One should never mistake pattern for meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/one-should-never-mistake-pattern-for-meaning/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [I'm a devoted husband. That must strike you as totally deviant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/i-m-a-devoted-husband-that-must-strike-you-as-totally-deviant/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“The flames had passed over those flattened blades and consumed their heather neighbours on either side while they themselves had remained, made proof against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/the-flames-had-passed-over-those-flattened-blades-and-consumed-their/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [All you ever were was a little bit of the universe, thinking to itself. Very specific; this bit, here, right now. All the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/all-you-ever-were-was-a-little-bit-of-the-universe-thinking-to-itself/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“We're not in prison, we're not junkies and we're not Young Tories...it's no small achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/we-re-not-in-prison-we-re-not-junkies-and-we-re-not-young-tories-it-s/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Torture is such a slippery slope; as soon as you allow a society or any legal system to do that, almost instantly you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/torture-is-such-a-slippery-slope-as-soon-as-you-allow-a-society-or/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/two-years-after-i-killed-blyth-i-murdered-my-young-brother-paul-for/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [If you have any helpful suggestions I'd be pleased to hear them. If all you can do is make snide insinuations then it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/if-you-have-any-helpful-suggestions-i-d-be-pleased-to-hear-them-if/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“He hit and fatally injured my innocent and unfortunate uncle whose muttered last words in hospital, before his coma became a full stop, were:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/he-hit-and-fatally-injured-my-innocent-and-unfortunate-uncle-whose/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [A guilty system recognizes no innocents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/a-guilty-system-recognizes-no-innocents/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“All reality is a game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/all-reality-is-a-game/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [There has seldom if ever a shortage of eager young males prepared to kill and die to preserve the security, comfort and prejudices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/there-has-seldom-if-ever-a-shortage-of-eager-young-males-prepared-to/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Escape is a consumer goods like another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/escape-is-a-consumer-goods-like-another/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) [Explore all 123 Iain Banks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a library, only the stupid or the evil are afraid of those", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iain Banks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/it-s-a-library-only-the-stupid-or-the-evil-are-afraid-of-those/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/it-s-a-library-only-the-stupid-or-the-evil-are-afraid-of-those/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47a/iain-banks-3752_evil_it-s-a-library-only-the-stupid-or-the-ev_1983884.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47a/iain-banks-3752_evil_it-s-a-library-only-the-stupid-or-the-ev_1983884.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47a/iain-banks-3752_evil_it-s-a-library-only-the-stupid-or-the-ev_1983884.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's a library, only the stupid or the evil are afraid of those” — Iain Banks", "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": "Iain Banks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's a library, only the stupid...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/it-s-a-library-only-the-stupid-or-the-evil-are-afraid-of-those/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/it-s-a-library-only-the-stupid-or-the-evil-are-afraid-of-those/#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 } } ] } ```