Sire, I am my own Rudolph of Hapsburg.

Sire, I am my own Rudolph of Hapsburg.

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.

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.

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.

No, my friends, I go (always other things being equal) for the
man that inherits family traditions and the read more

No, my friends, I go (always other things being equal) for the
man that inherits family traditions and the cumulative humanities
of at least four or five generations.

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

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

"My nobility," said he, "begins in me, but yours ends in you."
- Iphicrates,

"My nobility," said he, "begins in me, but yours ends in you."
- Iphicrates,

The brave are born from the brave and good. In steers and in
horses is to be found the read more

The brave are born from the brave and good. In steers and in
horses is to be found the excellence of their sire; nor do savage
eagles produce a peaceful dove.
[Lat., Fortes creantur fortibus et bonis;
Est in juvenis, est in equibus patrum
Virtus; nee imbellem feroces
Progenerant aquilae columbam.]

Great families of yesterday we show,
And lords whose parents were the Lord knows who.

Great families of yesterday we show,
And lords whose parents were the Lord knows who.