"Humans... are foolish creatures, even at the best of times," Alacruun replies after a moment of thought. He doesn't particularly care one way or the other about the elves themselves, but the thought of knowledge lost forever because someone had to try and destroy it in a fit of pique is rather depressing (and a little enraging). What's the point of knowledge if you don't learn it? What's the point of destroying it?

"I suppose it was out of some misguided and wrong-headed desire for... what? Control? Or just because they don't like the Dalish?"

He's being a bit of a hypocrite, considering what he was planning back home, but he's always had a critical lack of self-perspective.