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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I look upon you as a gem of the old rock.
I look upon you as a gem of the old rock.
The nobler the blood the less the pride
The nobler the blood the less the pride
D'Adam nous sommes tous enfants,
La prove en est connue,
Et que tous, nos premier parents
read more
D'Adam nous sommes tous enfants,
La prove en est connue,
Et que tous, nos premier parents
Ont mene la charrue.
Mais, las de cultiver enfin
La terre labouree
L'une a detele le matin,
L'autre l'apres-dinee.
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.
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.
Sire, I am my own Rudolph of Hapsburg.
Sire, I am my own Rudolph of Hapsburg.
Whoever serves his country well has no need of ancestors.
Whoever serves his country well has no need of ancestors.
He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another.
He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another.
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.
