---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Disobedience- that is the nobility of…"
description: "\"Disobedience- that is the nobility of slaves.\" — Friedrich Nietzsche"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_disobedience_disobedience-that-is-the-nobility-of-sla_1044277.jpg"
---

#  Disobedience- that is the nobility of slaves.

![“Disobedience- that is the nobility of slaves.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_disobedience_disobedience-that-is-the-nobility-of-sla_1044277.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_disobedience_disobedience-that-is-the-nobility-of-sla_1044277.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_disobedience_disobedience-that-is-the-nobility-of-sla_1044277.jpg)

> “Disobedience- that is the nobility of slaves.”

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

## About This Quote

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

Disobedience is a noble act for the oppressed, reflecting their inherent dignity.

**In simple terms:** Rebellion shows slave dignity.

Key Takeaway

Respect the power of resistance.

Themes

rebellion dignity oppression

Mood

provocative reflective

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

- civil rights movements
- personal defiance
- social activism

Key Concepts

existentialism political theory

Questions to Reflect On

- When is disobedience justified?
- What are the costs of rebellion?

A Different Perspective

Disobedience can have harmful consequences.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience/) [Nobility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobility/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/)

## Related quotes

> [In Gaul were two orders, the nobility and the priesthood, while the people, says Caesar, were all slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lothrop-motley/in-gaul-were-two-orders-the-nobility-and-the-priesthood-while-the/)

[John Lothrop Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lothrop-motley/)

> [A noble soul is not the one that can manage the highest flights but the one that rises very little and falls very little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/a-noble-soul-is-not-the-one-that-can-manage-the-highest-flights-but/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Every man has his price. This is not true. But for every man there exists a bait which he cannot resist swallowing. To win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-man-has-his-price-this-is-not-true-but-for-every-man-there/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Therefore, O my brothers, is a new nobility needed: to oppose all mob-rule and all despotism and to write anew upon new law-tables the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/therefore-o-my-brothers-is-a-new-nobility-needed-to-oppose-all-mob/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“O my brothers, I dedicate and direct you to a new nobility: you shall become procreators and cultivators and sowers of the future-verily, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/o-my-brothers-i-dedicate-and-direct-you-to-a-new-nobility-you-shall/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Genuine historical knowledge requires nobility of character, a profound understanding of human existence - not detachment and objectivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/genuine-historical-knowledge-requires-nobility-of-character-a/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Men inadvertently comport themselves with nobility when they have grown accustomed to wanting nothing from others and always giving to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/men-inadvertently-comport-themselves-with-nobility-when-they-have/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“The dignity of folly And just as tyranny of truth and science could increase esteem for the lie, a tyranny of prudence could spur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-dignity-of-folly-and-just-as-tyranny-of-truth-and-science-could/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/disobedience-is-the-true-foundation-of-liberty-the-obedient-must-be/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [I know this well, that if one thousand, if one hundred, if ten men whom I could name,--if ten honest men only,--ay, if one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-know-this-well-that-if-one-thousand-if-one-hundred-if-ten-men-whom/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [The slave and those whose present life is miserable and who can find no consolation in the heavens are assured that at least the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-slave-and-those-whose-present-life-is-miserable-and-who-can-find/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [I always read all these books about the slaves. My mother is very educated. My father would talk to us like we were grown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-always-read-all-these-books-about-the-slaves-my-mother-is-very/)

[Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/)

> [If we gotta fight and die for America, why should we be treated like slaves in America?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-williams/if-we-gotta-fight-and-die-for-america-why-should-we-be-treated-like/)

Hosea Williams

> [“The master doesn’t need to chain his slaves; their needs will chain them to him. You can end slavery by the stroke of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/the-master-doesn-t-need-to-chain-his-slaves-their-needs-will-chain/)

[Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/)

> [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

## More by Friedrich Nietzsche

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

## More Disobedience quotes

> [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/)

[Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/)

> [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/)

[Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/)

> [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/)

[Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/)

> [When you say 'no' and you get on the streets and you do an act of civil disobedience, it changes your psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-bradbrook/when-you-say-no-and-you-get-on-the-streets-and-you-do-an-act-of-civil/)

[Gail Bradbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-bradbrook/)

> [... professing myself moreover convinced that the general's unjust interference, so far from being really injurious to their felicity, was perhaps rather conducive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/professing-myself-moreover-convinced-that-the-general-s-unjust/)

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

> [“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is a man's original virtue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/disobedience-in-the-eyes-of-anyone-who-has-read-history-is-a-man-s/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Disobedience of any kind, on any level, is sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/disobedience-of-any-kind-on-any-level-is-sin/)

[Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/)

> [Arrogance is a mixture of impertinence, disobedience, indiscipline, rudeness, harshness, and a self-assertive nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/arrogance-is-a-mixture-of-impertinence-disobedience-indiscipline/)

[Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/)

> [Disobedience was man's Original Virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/disobedience-was-man-s-original-virtue/)

[Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/)

> [“...This is the arena in which a spiritualized disobedience means most. It doesn't mean a second New Deal, another massive bureaucratic attack on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-white/this-is-the-arena-in-which-a-spiritualized-disobedience-means-most-it/)

[Curtis White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-white/)

> [There is all the difference in the world between the criminal's avoiding the public eye and the civil disobedience's taking the law into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-the-criminal-s/)

[Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/)

> [Racial discrimination in elections in Texas is no mere historical artifact. To the contrary, Texas has been found in violation of the Voting Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/racial-discrimination-in-elections-in-texas-is-no-mere-historical/)

[Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/)

> [Satyagraha does not depend on outside help, it derives all its strength from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/satyagraha-does-not-depend-on-outside-help-it-derives-all-its/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [International affairs is very much run like the mafia. The godfather does not accept disobedience, even from a small storekeeper who doesn't pay his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/international-affairs-is-very-much-run-like-the-mafia-the-godfather/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

[Browse all 489 Disobedience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Disobedience- that is the nobility of slaves.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/disobedience-that-is-the-nobility-of-slaves/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Disobedience"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/disobedience-that-is-the-nobility-of-slaves/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_disobedience_disobedience-that-is-the-nobility-of-sla_1044277.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_disobedience_disobedience-that-is-the-nobility-of-sla_1044277.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/friedrich-nietzsche-15_disobedience_disobedience-that-is-the-nobility-of-sla_1044277.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Disobedience- that is the nobility of slaves.” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Disobedience- that is the nobility of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/disobedience-that-is-the-nobility-of-slaves/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/disobedience-that-is-the-nobility-of-slaves/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
