Nobility Essays

Perhaps we sometimes think of ourselves as Noble, which implies we have some idea of what it is to be noble.
OED states; Nobility= class of nobles, noble character or rank. Noble= illustrious by rank, title or birth, of lofty character, magnanimous, of imposing appearance. [So does that make Boris Karloff noble?!]. Magnanimous= high souled, above petty feelings. illustrious= distinguished.
I think nobility is the lawgiver of isolate intelligence. As a self governing individual we make our own rules, with only our ideals and ethics standing between us and total anarchy. Our Will goes a long way to upholding our ethical standards, but if presented with something that we desire strongly, our will may 'bend' our ethics to allow us to attain it! Nobility, is the essence that enables us to apply restraint when the will has gone as far as it can. It allows us to live up to our ideals and ethics, no matter how difficult. It allows us to rise above the problems of day to day existence to concentrate on ethical issues that are of importance to ourselves. It most certainly does not allow us to be led by the crowd, or rather, misled.
Hamlet= To be, or not to be; that is the question; whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?
i.e., is it more noble to put up with all the crap and turn the other cheek like a good xtian, or fight and wipe out the opposition?
This seems to depend very much on the circumstances involved in the onset of the fight. The Knights fighting the Crusades were thought to be Noble because their cause was a 'worthy' one, and they gave up their homes and lands to defend their faith! On the surface of things a street brawl would not seem to have any nobility, and if it had just resulted from two people getting drunk and name calling this would be the case. But if a passing stranger had seen a man beating a woman, and intervened to protect her, then this street fight would become a noble cause. Likewise, turning the other cheek can be a gesture of xtian faith, an act of cowardice, or in some cases an act of nobility- when to fight for example would put more at stake than walking away. So poor Hamlet's question is not really whether it is nobler to fight or walk away, but where the nobility lies in his situation.
The idea of nobility being a birthright, somehow existing in the blood is a very strange one. Royalty is supposedly noble, but there are good kings and bad kings, wise kings and mad kings! I think this idea is born out of the fact that people of higher breeding, have a greater tendency to nobility, because they are better educated in ethical matters, as the necessity to learn the arts of day to day survival are taken away from them because they have servants to perform these tasks, thus allowing them the time to study the higher arts. But it is still by no means a given that they will apply what they have learnt. In the same way, there are no absolutes that prevent someone from the lowest birth attaining high ethical status, it is just numerically less likely in both cases.
The world generally reacts to nobility with mixed feelings. Firstly they have reverence for the mythical Knight in shining armour figure, and superficially think it is a wonderful thing he does; but if they are asked to participate in his noble cause, they largely prefer to back off and be thankful that they do not have to carry the burden of nobility. They will even 'walk on the other side of the street' to achieve this continuance of their own 'easier' lifestyle. Generally, people in WoH want nobility in their world, so long as they are not the ones who have to do it, much as they want free flowing sewerage systems, but don't want to have to be the ones to go and unblock the tunnels!
Nobility applies to Xeper, for me at least, in helping to define personal behaviour standards, and becoming more aware on a day to day basis of what isolate intelligence and self government involves. It is not so much about how I behave in the world and the eyes of the world, as knowing and understanding what my own rules and boundaries are. Humbling to think these are the same lessons toddlers and later teenagers struggle to learn. Most people stop there, and let society take over as lawgiver.
Nobility ultimately is an issue that occurs and is resolved within the self, which is often split between opposing forces, understanding ourselves being the only way to resolve the split. I'll finish with a couple of quotes on this subject;
Hegel; I am myself the combatants, and the conflict, and the field that is torn with strife.
Ovid; I see and approve of the better course, but I follow the worse!


Nobility Perhaps we sometimes think of ourselves as Noble, which implies we have some idea of what it is to be noble. OED states; Nobility= class of nobles, noble character or rank. Noble= illustrious by rank, title or birth, of lofty character, magnanimous, of imposing appearance. [So does that make Boris Karloff noble?!]. Magnanimous= high souled, above petty feelings. illustrious= distinguished. I think nobility is the lawgiver of isolate intelligence. As a self governing individual we make our own rules, with only our ideals and ethics standing between us and total anarchy. Our Will goes a long way to upholding our ethical standards, but if presented with something that we desire strongly, our will may 'bend' our ethics to allow us to attain it! Nobility, is the essence that enables us to apply restraint when the will has gone as far as it can. It allows us to live up to our ideals and ethics, no matter how difficult. It allows us to rise above the problems of day to day existence to concentrate on ethical issues that are of importance to ourselves. It most certainly does not allow us to be led by the crowd, or rather, misled. Hamlet= To be, or not to be; that is the question; whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? i.e., is it more noble to put up with all the crap and turn the other cheek like a good xtian, or fight and wipe out the opposition? This seems to depend very much on the circumstances involved in the onset of the fight. The Knights fighting the Crusades were thought to be Noble because their cause was a 'worthy' one, and they gave up their homes and lands to defend their faith! On the surface of things a street brawl would not seem to have any nobility, and if it had just resulted from two people getting drunk and name calling this would be the case. But if a passing stranger had seen a man beating a woman, and intervened to protect her, then this street fight would become a noble cause. Likewise, turning the other cheek can be a gesture of xtian faith, an act of cowardice, or in some cases an act of nobility- when to fight for example would put more at stake than walking away. So poor Hamlet's question is not really whether it is nobler to fight or walk away, but where the nobility lies in his situation. The idea of nobility being a birthright, somehow existing in the blood is a very strange one. Royalty is supposedly noble, but there are good kings and bad kings, wise kings and mad kings! I think this idea is born out of the fact that people of higher breeding, have a greater tendency to nobility, because they are better educated in ethical matters, as the necessity to learn the arts of day to day survival are taken away from them because they have servants to perform these tasks, thus allowing them the time to study the higher arts. But it is still by no means a given that they will apply what they have learnt. In the same way, there are no absolutes that prevent someone from the lowest birth attaining high ethical status, it is just numerically less likely in both cases. The world generally reacts to nobility with mixed feelings. Firstly they have reverence for the mythical Knight in shining armour figure, and superficially think it is a wonderful thing he does; but if they are asked to participate in his noble cause, they largely prefer to back off and be thankful that they do not have to carry the burden of nobility. They will even 'walk on the other side of the street' to achieve this continuance of their own 'easier' lifestyle. Generally, people in WoH want nobility in their world, so long as they are not the ones who have to do it, much as they want free flowing sewerage systems, but don't want to have to be the ones to go and unblock the tunnels! Nobility applies to Xeper, for me at least, in helping to define personal behaviour standards, and becoming more aware on a day to day basis of what isolate intelligence and self government involves. It is not so much about how I behave in the world and the eyes of the world, as knowing and understanding what my own rules and boundaries are. Humbling to think these are the same lessons toddlers and later teenagers struggle to learn. Most people stop there, and let society take over as lawgiver. Nobility ultimately is an issue that occurs and is resolved within the self, which is often split between opposing forces, understanding ourselves being the only way to resolve the split. I'll finish with a couple of quotes on this subject; Hegel; I am myself the combatants, and the conflict, and the field that is torn with strife. Ovid; I see and approve of the better course, but I follow the worse!