Whoever serves his country well has no need of ancestors.

Whoever serves his country well has no need of ancestors.

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.

Sire, I am my own Rudolph of Hapsburg.

Sire, I am my own Rudolph of Hapsburg.

He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another

He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another

I look upon you as a gem of the old rock.

I look upon you as a gem of the old rock.

The nobler the blood the less the pride

The nobler the blood the less the pride

Few sons attain the praise
Of their great sires and most their sires disgrace.

Few sons attain the praise
Of their great sires and most their sires disgrace.

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.]

Of what use are pedigrees, or to be thought of noble blood, or
the display of family portraits, O read more

Of what use are pedigrees, or to be thought of noble blood, or
the display of family portraits, O Ponticus?
[Lat., Stemmata quid faciunt, quid prodest, Pontice, longo,
Sanguine censeri pictosque ostendere vultus.]