--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not obligatory for a generation to…" description: "\"It is not obligatory for a generation to have great men.\" — Jose Ortega y Gasset" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d6/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_generations_it-is-not-obligatory-for-a-generation-to_1308581.jpg" --- # It is not obligatory for a generation to have great men. ![“It is not obligatory for a generation to have great men.” quote by Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d6/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_generations_it-is-not-obligatory-for-a-generation-to_1308581.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d6/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_generations_it-is-not-obligatory-for-a-generation-to_1308581.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d6/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_generations_it-is-not-obligatory-for-a-generation-to_1308581.jpg) > “It is not obligatory for a generation to have great men.” [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great men are not a prerequisite for a generation’s progress; collective effort can shape history. **In simple terms:** Society can thrive without iconic leaders. Key Takeaway Value collective contribution. Themes society leadership history Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical social When to use this quote - social movements - education reform - community projects Key Concepts collectivism human agency Questions to Reflect On - How can societies foster collective responsibility? - What roles do ordinary people play in change? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on individuals may ignore systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Obligatory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligatory/) ## Related quotes > [There will never be a generation of great men until there has been a generation of free women - of free mothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/there-will-never-be-a-generation-of-great-men-until-there-has-been-a/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Our generation has had no Great Depression, no Great War. Our war is spiritual. Our depression is our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/our-generation-has-had-no-great-depression-no-great-war-our-war-is/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Jihad is obligatory, not only for the Muslims!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/compton-gage/jihad-is-obligatory-not-only-for-the-muslims/) [Compton Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/compton-gage/) > [If you have a sense that your money is somehow, even indirectly, contributing to a cause that you find morally problematic, then it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-mycoskie/if-you-have-a-sense-that-your-money-is-somehow-even-indirectly/) [Blake Mycoskie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-mycoskie/) > [“Yet, the entire world is obligatory. Even getting married is obligatory. One cannot do without getting married.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/yet-the-entire-world-is-obligatory-even-getting-married-is-obligatory/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [I took the obligatory economics classes in school, but I've long been a fan of the Milton Friedman philosophy and its libertarian bent: One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-trotter/i-took-the-obligatory-economics-classes-in-school-but-i-ve-long-been/) [Charlie Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-trotter/) > [The United States, like any great power, is always going to have an intelligence operation, and some electronic surveillance is obligatory in the modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-toobin/the-united-states-like-any-great-power-is-always-going-to-have-an/) [Jeffrey Toobin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-toobin/) > [Ships are obliged to take on harbor or river pilots - who provide specialized local navigation - when they approach a port, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/ships-are-obliged-to-take-on-harbor-or-river-pilots-who-provide/) [Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/) > [Jihad is obligatory for the Muslims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-bakr/jihad-is-obligatory-for-the-muslims/) [Abu Bakr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-bakr/) > [What is not forbidden in Sweden, is obligatory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/what-is-not-forbidden-in-sweden-is-obligatory/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [Circumcision is obligatory for Jewish-born males - it must be performed on the eighth day after birth and is only postponed in the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-sherman/circumcision-is-obligatory-for-jewish-born-males-it-must-be-performed/) [Brad Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-sherman/) > [The Constitution which at any time exists, 'till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole People is sacredly obligatory upon all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-constitution-which-at-any-time-exists-till-changed-by-an-explicit/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [It's really important to me to promote worthy causes. But not in a heavy, obligatory, responsibility way. I really admired that as a kid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-carlile/it-s-really-important-to-me-to-promote-worthy-causes-but-not-in-a/) [Brandi Carlile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-carlile/) > [Paris, as always, is swarming with Americans, and these days, it's also swarming with hamburgers. Oddly, though, it's not typically the Americans who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gottlieb/paris-as-always-is-swarming-with-americans-and-these-days-it-s-also/) [Robert Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gottlieb/) > [Summer is not obligatory. We can start an infernally hard jigsaw puzzle in June with the knowledge that, if there are enough rainy days,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/summer-is-not-obligatory-we-can-start-an-infernally-hard-jigsaw/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) ## More by Jose Ortega y Gasset > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [In these years we are witnessing the gigantic spectacle of innumerable human lives wandering about lost in their own labyrinths, through not having anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/in-these-years-we-are-witnessing-the-gigantic-spectacle-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [In order to master the unruly torrent of life the learned man meditates, the poet quivers, and the political hero erects the fortress of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/in-order-to-master-the-unruly-torrent-of-life-the-learned-man/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The common man, finding himself in a world so excellent, technically and socially, believes it has been produced by nature, and never thinks of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-common-man-finding-himself-in-a-world-so-excellent-technically/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Barbarism is the absence of standards to which appeal can be made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/barbarism-is-the-absence-of-standards-to-which-appeal-can-be-made/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The form most contradictory to human life that can appear among the human species is the "self-sat-isfied man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-form-most-contradictory-to-human-life-that-can-appear-among-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [“For there is no doubt that the most radical division that is possible to make of humanity is that which splits into two classes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/for-there-is-no-doubt-that-the-most-radical-division-that-is-possible/) [José Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [What makes a nation great is not primarily its great men, but the stature of its innumerable mediocre ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/what-makes-a-nation-great-is-not-primarily-its-great-men-but-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [To be surprised, to wonder, is to begin to understand. This is the sport, the luxury, special to the intellectual man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/to-be-surprised-to-wonder-is-to-begin-to-understand-this-is-the-sport/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Romantic poses aside, let us recognize that "falling in love"...is an inferior state of mind, a form of transitory imbecility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/romantic-poses-aside-let-us-recognize-that-falling-in-love-is-an/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Law is born from despair of human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/law-is-born-from-despair-of-human-nature/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The masses think that is is easy to flee from reality, when it is the most difficult thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-masses-think-that-is-is-easy-to-flee-from-reality-when-it-is-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The librarian's mission should be, not like up to now, a mere handling of the book as an object, but rather a know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-librarian-s-mission-should-be-not-like-up-to-now-a-mere-handling/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Whether he be an original or a plagiarist, man is the novelist of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/whether-he-be-an-original-or-a-plagiarist-man-is-the-novelist-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Here, then, is the point at which I see the new mission of the librarian rise up incomparably higher than all those preceding. Up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/here-then-is-the-point-at-which-i-see-the-new-mission-of-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) [Explore all 204 Jose Ortega y Gasset quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) ## More Generation quotes > [If every nation gets the government it deserves, every generation writes the history which corresponds with its view of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/if-every-nation-gets-the-government-it-deserves-every-generation/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [“More than anything, Boomer influence is a story of sheer numbers. As of the early 1980s, when the Boomer revolution really kicked off, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cannon-gibney/more-than-anything-boomer-influence-is-a-story-of-sheer-numbers-as-of/) [Bruce Cannon Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cannon-gibney/) > [We live in such a special time when literally anything we can think of is possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/we-live-in-such-a-special-time-when-literally-anything-we-can-think/) [Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/) > [We are living in a WTF generation (W)ikipedia (T)witter (F)acebook!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-living-in-a-wtf-generation-w-ikipedia-t-witter-f-acebook/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Progress is the injustice each generation commits with regard to its predecessors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/progress-is-the-injustice-each-generation-commits-with-regard-to-its/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [We are the WTF generation: Wikipedia, Twitter and Facebook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-the-wtf-generation-wikipedia-twitter-and-facebook/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not of this generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-manson/i-m-not-of-this-generation/) [Charles Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-manson/) > [Phil is of a generation that probably would have been happier never getting married. He just doesn't want to get married again; it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanie-buss/phil-is-of-a-generation-that-probably-would-have-been-happier-never/) [Jeanie Buss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanie-buss/) > [In the long period of time when I did talk shows and game shows, a whole new generation of people came along who thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/in-the-long-period-of-time-when-i-did-talk-shows-and-game-shows-a/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [If we turn our backs on the remaining industries and not reinvest in these places and just say 'You're on your own,' we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fetterman/if-we-turn-our-backs-on-the-remaining-industries-and-not-reinvest-in/) [John Fetterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fetterman/) > [I liked the generation of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, who I admired. I was a little bit jealous of Karel Poborsky who played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pavel-nedved/i-liked-the-generation-of-paul-scholes-and-ryan-giggs-who-i-admired-i/) [Pavel Nedved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pavel-nedved/) > [I look forward to the day that a lot of the folks that you all talk about and cover on this network will begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-look-forward-to-the-day-that-a-lot-of-the-folks-that-you-all-talk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Plainly, when perfusate from an organ or blood from an animal is used for superfusion, substances can reach the assay tissues within a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vane/plainly-when-perfusate-from-an-organ-or-blood-from-an-animal-is-used/) [John Vane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vane/) > [There's a whole generation of women who never really heard the word investment before, when it came to fashion. They've been buying things because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kors/there-s-a-whole-generation-of-women-who-never-really-heard-the-word/) [Michael Kors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kors/) > [Every generation tries to put its doctrine on a high shelf where the children can not reach it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-rauschenbusch/every-generation-tries-to-put-its-doctrine-on-a-high-shelf-where-the/) [Walter Rauschenbusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-rauschenbusch/) [Browse all 3,076 Generation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not obligatory for a generation to have great men.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jose Ortega y Gasset" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-is-not-obligatory-for-a-generation-to-have-great-men/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Generation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-is-not-obligatory-for-a-generation-to-have-great-men/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d6/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_generations_it-is-not-obligatory-for-a-generation-to_1308581.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d6/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_generations_it-is-not-obligatory-for-a-generation-to_1308581.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d6/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_generations_it-is-not-obligatory-for-a-generation-to_1308581.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not obligatory for a generation to have great men.” — Jose Ortega y Gasset", "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": "Jose Ortega y Gasset", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is not obligatory for a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-is-not-obligatory-for-a-generation-to-have-great-men/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-is-not-obligatory-for-a-generation-to-have-great-men/#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 } } ] } ```