He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another

He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another

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.

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.

Sire, I am my own Rudolph of Hapsburg.

Sire, I am my own Rudolph of Hapsburg.

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?

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

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.

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.

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

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