--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nobility is defined by the demands it…" description: "\"Nobility is defined by the demands it makes on us - by obligations, not by rights. Noblesse oblige. 'To live as one likes is plebeian; the noble man as..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_aspire_nobility-is-defined-by-the-demands-it-ma_416256.jpg" --- # Nobility is defined by the demands it makes on us - by… ![“Nobility is defined by the demands it makes on us - by obligations, not by rights. Noblesse oblige. 'To live as one likes is plebeian; the noble man aspires to order and law.'” quote by Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_aspire_nobility-is-defined-by-the-demands-it-ma_416256.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_aspire_nobility-is-defined-by-the-demands-it-ma_416256.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_aspire_nobility-is-defined-by-the-demands-it-ma_416256.jpg) > “Nobility is defined by the demands it makes on us - by obligations, not by rights. Noblesse oblige. 'To live as one likes is plebeian; the noble man aspires to order and law.'” [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. Nobility is measured by the responsibilities it imposes, not by privileges; true noblesse oblige demands order and law. **In simple terms:** Nobility = obligations, not rights. Key Takeaway Embrace responsibility, pursue order. Themes ethics leadership social hierarchy Mood serious inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - political leadership - community service - personal conduct Key Concepts noblesse oblige moral duty Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities define your role? - How do you balance personal desire with societal order? A Different Perspective May idealize aristocratic values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nobility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobility/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Noble man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble-man/) [Noblesse oblige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noblesse-oblige/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Plebeians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plebeians/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) ## Related quotes > [“Where the establishment emphasized humility, prudence, lineage, meritocracy celebrates ambition, achievement, brains&self-betterment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hayes/where-the-establishment-emphasized-humility-prudence-lineage/) [Christopher Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hayes/) > [Noblesse oblige; or, superior advantages bind you to larger generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/noblesse-oblige-or-superior-advantages-bind-you-to-larger-generosity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Because I’m a peer. 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'One is constantly in demand, but one must do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-napier/mmm-being-irresistibly-likeable-is-such-a-trial-she-drawled-in-an/) [Susan Napier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-napier/) > [Man is by nature a pragmatic materialist, a mechanic, a lover of gadgets and gadgetry; and these are the qualities that characterize the "establishment"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gould-davis/man-is-by-nature-a-pragmatic-materialist-a-mechanic-a-lover-of/) [Elizabeth Gould Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gould-davis/) > [If you’re in the luckiest one per cent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/if-you-re-in-the-luckiest-one-per-cent-of-humanity-you-owe-it-to-the/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [According to an old French motto, Noblesse oblige - one must live up to one's name. 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It is the cesspit of humanity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/val-i-m-on-bourbon-i-will-not-venture-down-that-street-of-crass/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friends-romans-countrymen-lend-me-your-ears-i-come-to-bury-caesar-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Words have their own hierarchy, their own protocol, their own artistic titles, their own plebeian stigmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/words-have-their-own-hierarchy-their-own-protocol-their-own-artistic/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [ The emancipation of the scholars and scientists from philosophy is according to \[Nietzsche\] only a part of the democratic movement, i.e. of the emancipation… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/the-emancipation-of-the-scholars-and-scientists-from-philosophy-is/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) ## 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 Aspire quotes > [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/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [I love it when television is shot in a cinematic way and I think to aspire to that is no bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rhys/i-love-it-when-television-is-shot-in-a-cinematic-way-and-i-think-to/) [Matthew Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rhys/) > [At the end of the day, everyone knows what it is to be loved and to aspire to love someone, to want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/at-the-end-of-the-day-everyone-knows-what-it-is-to-be-loved-and-to/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [I didn't aspire to be a good sport; 'champion' was good enough for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-perry/i-didn-t-aspire-to-be-a-good-sport-champion-was-good-enough-for-me/) [Fred Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-perry/) > [We should all aspire in life to do a multitude of things well - to be a great father, to be a good husband,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-modine/we-should-all-aspire-in-life-to-do-a-multitude-of-things-well-to-be-a/) [Matthew Modine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-modine/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I aspire my country eventually has a league where all players play 50 games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-chhetri/i-aspire-my-country-eventually-has-a-league-where-all-players-play-50/) [Sunil Chhetri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-chhetri/) > [I'm exceptional in everything that I do and I aspire to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omarosa-manigault-newman/i-m-exceptional-in-everything-that-i-do-and-i-aspire-to-do/) [Omarosa Manigault Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omarosa-manigault-newman/) > [One of the reasons you study at great institutions or aspire to work in great corporations is that you hope to acquire the values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsha-bhogle/one-of-the-reasons-you-study-at-great-institutions-or-aspire-to-work/) [Harsha Bhogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsha-bhogle/) > [So if you aspire to be a good conversationali st, be an attentive listener. To be interesting, be interested. 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