Book Description

Excerpt from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: A Medley in Prose and Verse Ancestors. Boast not these titles of your ancestors, Brave youths; they're their possessions, none of yours When your own virtues equalled have their names, 'Twill be but fair to lean upon their fames, For they are strong supporters; but, till then, The greatest are but growing gentlemen. It is a wretched thing to trust to reeds; What all men do, they urge not their own deeds Up to their ancestors; the river's side. By which you're planted, shows your fruit shall bide; Hang all your rooms with one large pedigree: 'Tis virtue atone is true nobility. Which virtue from your father, ripe, will fall; Study illustrious him, and you'll have all. Ben Jonson. 'Tis poor, and not becoming perfect gentry, To build their glories at their fathers' cost; But at their own expense of blood or virtue To raise them living monuments. Our birth Is not our own act; honour upon trust Our ill deeds forfeit; and the wealthy sums Purchas'd by others' fame or sweat will be Our stain; for we inherit nothing truly But what our actions make us worthy of. Chapman and Shirley About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.