What nobility still teaches us

Le Regard Libre N° 47 - Giovanni F. Ryffel

Among the great themes that have animated the history of philosophy, nobility has often questioned thinkers since Plato's dialogues. Today, no one cares much about aristocrats, but the concept of nobility as rethought in the Middle Ages can still enlighten us, even if we have no illustrious ancestors.

Homer is one of the first authors in our civilization to have viewed the nobility with a critical eye. Not critical in the sense that he fought against the aristocracy, but in the sense that Homer does much more than simply recount old stories that had been passed down orally through the centuries. No, the poet of the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey* offers a personal perspective on the characters whose stories he so majestically recounts