Say, when the ground our father Adam till'd,
And mother Eve the humble distaff held,
Who then his pedigree presumed to trace,
Or challenged the prerogative of place?
[Lat., Primus Adam duro cum vertet arva ligone,
Pensaque de vili deceret Eva colo:
Ecquis in hoc poterat vir nobilis orbe videri?
Et modo quisquam alios ante locandue erir?
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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.
The wisdom of our ancestors.
The wisdom of our ancestors.
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.
He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another.
He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another.
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.
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
Whoever serves his country well has no need of ancestors.
Whoever serves his country well has no need of ancestors.
"My nobility," said he, "begins in me, but yours ends in you."
- Iphicrates,
"My nobility," said he, "begins in me, but yours ends in you."
- Iphicrates,
