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La noblesse oblige (/noʊˌblɛs əˈbliːʒ/; French: [la nɔblɛs ɔbliʒ] ; literally "nobility obliges") is a French expression that means that nobility extends beyond mere entitlement, requiring people who hold such status to fulfill social responsibilities; the term retains the same meaning in English. For example, a primary obligation of a nobleman could include generosity towards those around him. As those who lived on the nobles' land had obligations to the nobility, the nobility had obligations to their people, including protection at the least.[1]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term suggests "noble ancestry constrains to honourable behaviour; privilege entails responsibility." The Dictionnaire de l'Académie française defines it thus:
- Whoever claims to be noble must conduct himself nobly.
- (Figuratively) One must act in a fashion that conforms to one's position and privileges with which one has been born, bestowed and/or has earned.
OED and others cite the source of the phrase as Maxims (1808) by Pierre Marc Gaston de Lévis, Duke of Lévis.[2][3][4]
- ^ "Noblesse | Etymology, origin and meaning of noblesse by etymonline".
- ^ Shapiro, Fred R., ed. (31 August 2021). The New Yale Book of Quotations. Yale University Press. p. 486. ISBN 9780300262780.
- ^ Bartlett, John (1882). Familiar Quotations. Little, Brown. p. 501.
- ^ Lévis, M. Gaston de (1810). Maximes et réflexions sur différents sujets de morale et de politique. P. Didot. p. 24.