 | Otia Sacra Optima Fides |  |
146
Virtus vera Nobilitas.
What doth He get who ere prefersThe Scutchions of His Ancesters?
This Chimney-peice of Gold or Brass,
That Coat of Armes Blazon'd in glass;
When those with time and age have end,
Thy Prowess must thy self commend.
The smooty shadows of some one
Or Others Trophees carv'd in stone,
Defac'd, are things to whet, not try
Thine own Heroicism by.
For cast how much thy Merits score
Falls short of those went thee before;
By so much art thou in arrear,
And stain'st Gentility I fear.
True Nobleness doth those alone engage,
Who can add Vertues to their Parentage.
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