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.

He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another.

He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another.

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.

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

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

Sire, I am my own Rudolph of Hapsburg.

Sire, I am my own Rudolph of Hapsburg.

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.

Birth and ancestry, and that which we have not ourselves
achieved, we can scarcely call our own.
[Lat., read more

Birth and ancestry, and that which we have not ourselves
achieved, we can scarcely call our own.
[Lat., Nam genus et proavos et quae non fecimus ipsi
Vix ea nostra voco.]

We are all creatures of our ancestry! There is no right and wrong, objectively.

We are all creatures of our ancestry! There is no right and wrong, objectively.

Born is a Cellar, . . . and living in a Garret.

Born is a Cellar, . . . and living in a Garret.