The wisdom of our ancestors.

The wisdom of our ancestors.

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

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

Say, when the ground our father Adam till'd,
And mother Eve the humble distaff held,
Who then read more

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?

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.

There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had read more

There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.

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.

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.

He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another

He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another

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