--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Despite the enormous quantity of books…" description: "\"Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few people read! And if one reads profitably, one would realize how much stupid stuff the vulgar herd is co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/voltaire-173_book_despite-the-enormous-quantity-of-books-h_208564.jpg" --- # Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few people… ![“Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few people read! And if one reads profitably, one would realize how much stupid stuff the vulgar herd is content to swallow every day.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/voltaire-173_book_despite-the-enormous-quantity-of-books-h_208564.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/voltaire-173_book_despite-the-enormous-quantity-of-books-h_208564.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/voltaire-173_book_despite-the-enormous-quantity-of-books-h_208564.jpg) > “Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few people read! And if one reads profitably, one would realize how much stupid stuff the vulgar herd is content to swallow every day.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The abundance of books contrasts sharply with the scarcity of readers, highlighting society’s tendency to accept foolish ideas without critical thought. **In simple terms:** Many books exist, but few people read them critically. Key Takeaway Cultivate active reading and critical thinking. Themes knowledge critical thinking media literacy Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education reform - public discourse - media consumption - self‑education Key Concepts enlightenment cultural criticism intellectual laziness Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from reading more deeply? - How can you encourage others to think critically? A Different Perspective People may resist challenging their beliefs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-people/) [Enormous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous/) [Enormous Quantity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous-quantity-2158458/) [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Herds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/herds/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-read/) [Quantity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quantity/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reads Profitably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reads-profitably-2158459/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid/) [Vulgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgar/) [Vulgar Herd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgar-herd-1843521/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [ The vulgar herd estimate friendship by its advantages. \[Lat., Vulgus amicitias utilitate probat.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/the-vulgar-herd-estimate-friendship-by-its-advantages-lat-vulgus/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [A party spirit betrays the greatest men to act as meanly as the vulgar herd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-party-spirit-betrays-the-greatest-men-to-act-as-meanly-as-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [We have within us, from the start, that which will distinguish us from the vulgar herd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-within-us-from-the-start-that-which-will-distinguish-us-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Not all books are for all people. We read for different reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/not-all-books-are-for-all-people-we-read-for-different-reasons/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [Why don't you write books people can read?(to her husband James)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-barnacle/why-don-t-you-write-books-people-can-read-to-her-husband-james/) [Nora Barnacle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-barnacle/) > [The biggest critics of my books are the people who never read them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/the-biggest-critics-of-my-books-are-the-people-who-never-read-them/) [Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/) > [Why don't you write books people can read?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-joyce/why-don-t-you-write-books-people-can-read/) [Nora Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-joyce/) > [There is nothing on earth more exquisite than a bonny book, with well-placed columns of rich black writing in beautiful borders, and illuminated pictures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/there-is-nothing-on-earth-more-exquisite-than-a-bonny-book-with-well/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The biggest critics of my books are people who never read them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/the-biggest-critics-of-my-books-are-people-who-never-read-them/) [Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/) > [I didn't like books where people played on a sports team and won a bunch of games, or went to summer camp and had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-didn-t-like-books-where-people-played-on-a-sports-team-and-won-a/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“I knew books could see people around them, they ground their tiny teeth, tried to rattle like windows, stories to tell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-aylett/i-knew-books-could-see-people-around-them-they-ground-their-tiny/) [Steve Aylett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-aylett/) > [I have a very low tolerance for boredom and often think I would have missed out on books entirely if Id grown up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-have-a-very-low-tolerance-for-boredom-and-often-think-i-would-have/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“Try to avoid your house catching fire, as this does no good at all. And while your house is still intact, it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-connolly/try-to-avoid-your-house-catching-fire-as-this-does-no-good-at-all-and/) [Joseph Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-connolly/) > [I care more about the people in books than the people I see every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/i-care-more-about-the-people-in-books-than-the-people-i-see-every-day/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [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/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More Book 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/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few people read! 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