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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?
He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another.
He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another.
A degenerate nobleman, or one that is proud of his birth, is like
a turnip. There is nothing good read more
A degenerate nobleman, or one that is proud of his birth, is like
a turnip. There is nothing good of him but that which is
underground.
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.]
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.]
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.
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.
Sence I've ben here, I've hired a chap to look about for me,
To git me a transplantable an' read more
Sence I've ben here, I've hired a chap to look about for me,
To git me a transplantable an' thrifty fem'ly-tree.
The nobler the blood the less the pride
The nobler the blood the less the pride
