I came up-stairs into the world; for I was born in a cellar.

I came up-stairs into the world; for I was born in a cellar.

A nation is a society united by a delusion about it's ancestry and by a common hatred of it's neighbours.

A nation is a society united by a delusion about it's ancestry and by a common hatred of it's neighbours.

I am a gentleman, though spoiled i' the breeding. The Buzzards
are all gentlemen. We came with the Conqueror.

I am a gentleman, though spoiled i' the breeding. The Buzzards
are all gentlemen. We came with the Conqueror.

What can ennoble sots, or slaves, or cowards?
Alas! not all the blood, of all the Howards.

What can ennoble sots, or slaves, or cowards?
Alas! not all the blood, of all the Howards.

If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.

If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.

One who is proud of ancestry is like a turnip; there is nothing good of him but that which is read more

One who is proud of ancestry is like a turnip; there is nothing good of him but that which is underground

People will not look forward to posterity, who never look
backward to their ancestors.

People will not look forward to posterity, who never look
backward to their ancestors.

Faith, I know nothing about it; I am my own ancestor.
[Fr., An, ma foi, je n'en sais rien; read more

Faith, I know nothing about it; I am my own ancestor.
[Fr., An, ma foi, je n'en sais rien; moi je suis mon ancetre.]

He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another

He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another