He that boasteth of his ancestors, confesseth he hath no virtue of his own.

So yourself be good, a fig for your grandfather.

From our ancestors come our names; but from our virtues, our honors.

Gentility without ability is worse than plain beggary.

A man can’t very well make for himself a place in the sun if he keeps continually taking refuge under the family tree.

A man who boasts only of his ancestors confesses that he belongs to a family that is better dead than alive.

Nearly every man is a firm believer in heredity until his son makes a fool of himself.