---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are far more a worst crimes than…"
description: "\"“There are far more a worst crimes than burning books… Not reading them.”\" — Joseph Brodsky"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/joseph-brodsky-1225_books_there-are-far-more-a-worst-crimes-than-b_441525.png"
---

#  There are far more a worst crimes than burning books… Not…

![“There are far more a worst crimes than burning books… Not reading them.” quote by Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/joseph-brodsky-1225_books_there-are-far-more-a-worst-crimes-than-b_441525.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/joseph-brodsky-1225_books_there-are-far-more-a-worst-crimes-than-b_441525.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/joseph-brodsky-1225_books_there-are-far-more-a-worst-crimes-than-b_441525.png)

> ““There are far more a worst crimes than burning books… Not reading them.””

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

## About This Quote

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

Burning books is a crime, but neglecting to read them is an even greater moral failure.

**In simple terms:** Neglecting reading is a worse crime than burning books.

Key Takeaway

Read more, value books.

Themes

education freedom responsibility

Mood

thoughtful concerned

Type

philosophical activist

When to use this quote

- schools
- public libraries
- personal reading habits

Key Concepts

censorship literacy

Questions to Reflect On

- What books have you ignored that could change you?
- How can society promote reading over destruction?

A Different Perspective

Reading alone does not guarantee understanding.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Burning Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burning-books/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Crimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crimes/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [“ There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-worse-crimes-than-burning-books-one-of-them-is-not-reading-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-worse-crimes-than-burning-books-one-of-them-is-not-reading/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The worlds worst crimes are not committed by the hungry people; they are committed by the over-fed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-worlds-worst-crimes-are-not-committed-by-the-hungry-people-they/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Governments without separation of powers commit the worst crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/governments-without-separation-of-powers-commit-the-worst-crimes/)

[James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/)

> [The worst crimes; are the crimes of the heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/the-worst-crimes-are-the-crimes-of-the-heart/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [The worst crimes were dared by a few, willed by more and tolerated by all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/the-worst-crimes-were-dared-by-a-few-willed-by-more-and-tolerated-by/)

[Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/)

> [“Burning books is not as horrible as burning people, because books, contrary to men, are not unique and ideas are fireproof!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/burning-books-is-not-as-horrible-as-burning-people-because-books/)

[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [While on the subject of burning books, I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength, who, all over this country, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/while-on-the-subject-of-burning-books-i-want-to-congratulate/)

[Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/)

> [What progress we are making. In the Middle Ages they would have burned me. Now they are content with burning my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/what-progress-we-are-making-in-the-middle-ages-they-would-have-burned/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [The worst crimes against humanity in the last half of the previous century and this century are carried out with conventional advanced weapons, upgraded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilan-papp/the-worst-crimes-against-humanity-in-the-last-half-of-the-previous/)

[Ilan Pappe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilan-papp/)

> [What have I done? What horrid crime committed? To me the worst of crimes-outliv'd my liking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/what-have-i-done-what-horrid-crime-committed-to-me-the-worst-of/)

[Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/)

> [“The worst crimes are committed out of enthusiasm, a morbid state responsible for almost all public and private disasters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/the-worst-crimes-are-committed-out-of-enthusiasm-a-morbid-state/)

[Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/)

> [The greatest of evils and the worst of crimes is poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-greatest-of-evils-and-the-worst-of-crimes-is-poverty/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [No other work has more often been blamed for more heinous crimes by the perpetrators of such crimes. The Bible has been named as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-strossen/no-other-work-has-more-often-been-blamed-for-more-heinous-crimes-by/)

Nadine Strossen

> [“Book Bans Are Dumb (Sonnet 1587) Book bans are dumb, It makes the mind numb. If banning books were justice, Middle ages would've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/book-bans-are-dumb-sonnet-1587-book-bans-are-dumb-it-makes-the-mind/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

## More by Joseph Brodsky

> [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [For some odd reason, the expression 'death of a poet' always sounds somewhat more concrete than 'life of a poet.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/for-some-odd-reason-the-expression-death-of-a-poet-always-sounds/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [A poet is a combination of an instrument and a human being in one person, with the former gradually taking over the latter. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/a-poet-is-a-combination-of-an-instrument-and-a-human-being-in-one/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [On the whole, love comes with the speed of light; separation, with that of sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/on-the-whole-love-comes-with-the-speed-of-light-separation-with-that/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [“In the business of writing, what one accumulates is not experience but uncertainties.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/in-the-business-of-writing-what-one-accumulates-is-not-experience-but/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [I haven't shifted language. I'm writing in English because I like it. I'm a sucker for the language, but the good old poems I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/i-haven-t-shifted-language-i-m-writing-in-english-because-i-like-it-i/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [Perhaps the best proof of the Almighty's existence is that we never know when we are to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/perhaps-the-best-proof-of-the-almighty-s-existence-is-that-we-never/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [I grew up in the sort of cultural milieu that always regarded conversations about the political discourse as tremendously low-brow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/i-grew-up-in-the-sort-of-cultural-milieu-that-always-regarded/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [“What gets left of a man amounts to a part. To his spoken part. To a part of speech”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/what-gets-left-of-a-man-amounts-to-a-part-to-his-spoken-part-to-a/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [“secrecy is a hotbed of vanity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/secrecy-is-a-hotbed-of-vanity/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [“The instinctive preference was to read rather than to act. No wonder our actual lives were more or less a shambles”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/the-instinctive-preference-was-to-read-rather-than-to-act-no-wonder/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [Americans have been tremendously fortunate in poetry, regarding both the quantity and quality of poetry produced. Unfortunately, it remains in schools and universities; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/americans-have-been-tremendously-fortunate-in-poetry-regarding-both/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [Life—the way it really is—is a battle not between good and bad, but between bad and worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/life-the-way-it-really-is-is-a-battle-not-between-good-and-bad-but/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [Poems, novels - these things belong to the nation, to the culture, and the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/poems-novels-these-things-belong-to-the-nation-to-the-culture-and-the/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [“If there is any substitute for love, it is memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/if-there-is-any-substitute-for-love-it-is-memory/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

[Explore all 264 Joseph Brodsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

## 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

> [“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

> [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": "“There are far more a worst crimes than burning books… Not reading them.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Joseph Brodsky"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/there-are-far-more-a-worst-crimes-than-burning-books-not-reading-them/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/there-are-far-more-a-worst-crimes-than-burning-books-not-reading-them/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/joseph-brodsky-1225_books_there-are-far-more-a-worst-crimes-than-b_441525.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/joseph-brodsky-1225_books_there-are-far-more-a-worst-crimes-than-b_441525.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/joseph-brodsky-1225_books_there-are-far-more-a-worst-crimes-than-b_441525.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There are far more a worst crimes than burning books… Not reading them.” — Joseph Brodsky",
                "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": "Joseph Brodsky",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“There are far more a worst...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/there-are-far-more-a-worst-crimes-than-burning-books-not-reading-them/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/there-are-far-more-a-worst-crimes-than-burning-books-not-reading-them/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
