Ancestor Quotes

“The ancestor of every action is a thought.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“That sure as fuck ain't no cow”
― Scott Sigler

“He did not know that the Old One was his father, for such a relationship was utterly beyond his understanding, but as he looked at the emaciated body he felt a dim disquiet that was the ancestor of sadness.”
― Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey

“It is in the roots, not the branches, that a tree’s greatest strength lies.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo

“Maybe, it is easier to forget the past,
than to overcome the pain caused by it.
Maybe, it is one of some other reasons,
why men forget their prehuman ancestor.”
― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut

“Making God a man is the consolation prize that our forefathers gave themselves for not being the ones who were each blessed with a vagina.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“If we presume that the boundary of the universe is a kind of surrounding wall,
then we think like ancestors who thought there's abyss at the edge of flat earth.”
― Toba Beta, Betelgeuse Incident: Insiden Bait Al-Jauza

“Here it is necessary briefly to consider the question of the cult of ancestors before venturing farther. The spirits of the departed are believed to be possessed of supernatural powers which they did not enjoy in the flesh. They may also be dissatisfied or malignant in consequence of being suddenly deprived of life, and if they are neglected by the living, are apt to be revengeful. Therefore they must be cajoled and propitiated. Fear of beings belonging to a mysterious state or sphere of which he knew nothing continually haunted and terrified primitive man and induced in him what is known as" the dread of the sacred." It was every man's personal duty to attend to the demands or requirements of his deceased ancestors. At first he would succour his own immediate forebears with food and gifts; but it must have been borne in upon him that when his parents joined the great majority, the care of the spirits of their parents likewise devolved upon him... and, by degrees, he might even come to regard himself as responsible for the well-being of a line of spirit ancestors of quite formidable genealogy. These, through his neglect, might starve in their tombs; or, alternatively, they might crave his company. Because of vengeance or loneliness they might send disease upon him, for the savage almost invariably believes illness to be brought about by the action of jealous or neglected ancestors. The loneliness of the spirit-world is the dead man's greatest excuse for desiring the company of his descendants.”
― Lewis Spence, British Fairy Origins

“The sacrifice our ancestors gave yesterday
Gave us today and our tomorrow”
― Stephen Robert Kuta, Selina's Letter, Tales of Suicide from Victorian and Edwardian London

“We should have known much more than our ancestors.
But if we learn less, we're much more stupid than them.”
― Toba Beta, Master of Stupidity

“We do not brag about ancestors that were not great”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, The Great Pearl of Wisdom

“Civilization is always threatened from below, by patterns of belief and emotion that may once have been useful to our ancestors, but that are useful no longer.”
― Roger Scruton, The Uses of Pessimism: And the Danger of False Hope

“This is Roshana, the last queen of the Amulen Empire, back when my people ruled all the lands from the east to the west. She is something of a legend among us. Every queen aspires to learn from her mistakes.”
“Her mistakes? Surely you mean her victories.”
“What?”
I frown at her. “Roshana was one of the greatest queens in the world. She ended the Mountain Wars, she routed Sanhezriyah the Mad, she—”
“For a foreign serving girl, you are strangely well versed in Amulen history.”
“I spent a lot of time in libraries as a girl.”
“Were you there to dust the scrolls or read them?”
“Surely Roshana’s victories outweigh her errors.”
“The higher you rise, the farther you fall. For all her wisdom, Roshana was fooled by the jinni, believing it was her friend, and then it destroyed her. Ever since that day, my people have hunted the jinn. There is no creature more vicious and untrustworthy.”
“This is not the story I heard,” I say softly. “My people tell it differently. That the jinni truly was a friend to Roshana but was forced to turn against her. That she had no choice.”
“Surely I know how my own ancestress died,” returns the princess, a bit hotly. “Anyway, it was a long time ago, but we Amulens do not forget.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“There is a rope that stretches from Infinity to Infinity, passing over a razor which is the Present. If the rope is cut, both ends fall away from the middle and the rope is no more. If the man alive now dies without heir, the whole continuum of ancestors and unborn descendants dies with him... His existence as an individual is necessary but insignificant beside his existence as the representative of the whole”
― Hugh Baker

“My ancestors are my greatest motivation!”
― Stephanie Lahart

“It reminds me about Jonas Salk, inventor of the polio vaccine, said when asked what the main aim of his life had been: ‘to be a good ancestor.’ A comment like that can only come from a man profoundly aware of his place in the universe.”
― Eric Weiner

“My ancestors are on Stromboli, while yours, dear reader, came from another island, another village or another place. What we share is a past that is awaiting our voyage of discovery.”
― Filomena Stefanelli

“Ancestral spirits of your fathers house does not identify you by looks or stature but by the DNA they buried deep down your blood.”
― Ikechukwu Izuakor , Great Reflections on Success

“Lady Beatrice's left eye stares boldly at me through the opening of a mask that she holds up to her face. Her light hair is piled half onto the top of her head, the other half arrayed around her shoulders. An unusual ring adorns her right hand, and I zoom in on the portrait to see it more clearly. The ring is a diamond in the shape of an icicle.
I return to the Wikipedia article and click on the next image--a painting of Beatrice on the night of her hanging. She is older in this painting, but her blond hair is styled the same as in the earlier, youthful portrait. The painting depicts screaming townspeople snatching at the skirts of her heavy gown as she attempts to flee. Leaves and flowers are woven through her hair, and a long garland drapes across her dress, giving her the appearance of nature itself.
I look closer. There is no doubt that I resemble her; our blue eyes, high cheekbones, and ivory skin are all a match. We could be sisters from different eras.”
― Alexandra Monir, Suspicion

“The most startling part was that, if he recalled correctly, the DuMarins' medieval ancestor was none other than Valerian the Alchemist--- the same dark wizard who had laid the Kilburn Curse upon his family.
This heritage would've made Kate practically royalty among the Prometheans---and could make her all the more dangerous to him. For beyond superstition, the girl seemed uniquely suited to enchant him.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“Hua Yanlin
Yuan dynasty. Witness to the end of the Song dynasty and the Mongol conquest under the Khans.
Heart note // Intensify gratitude
Base note // Lavender”
― L.C. Chu, The Library of Flowers

“Hua Liqiu
Southern Song dynasty. Liqiu was the first Hua to have her feet bound.
Heart note // Lift gloominess
Base note // Benzoin”
― L.C. Chu, The Library of Flowers

“Hua Jing
Yuan dynasty. Jing moved the family to Nanjing, away from the frontier capital of Beijing.
Heart note // Block insecurity
Base note // Juniper”
― L.C. Chu, The Library of Flowers

“Hua An
Yuan dynasty. Suffered through the Red Turban rebellion.
Heart note // Reinforce bravery
Base note // Camellia”
― L.C. Chu, The Library of Flowers

“Hua Changchang
Ming dynasty. Changchang collected porcelain from the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, and for years sought a gold-gilded cup said to be the only one ever made. She never found it.
Heart note // Boost hope
Base note // Agarwood”
― L.C. Chu, The Library of Flowers

“Hua Shihong
Ming dynasty. As a child, witnessed the inauspicious comet, which haunted her dreams for the rest of her life.
Heart note // End weepiness
Base note // Lotus”
― L.C. Chu, The Library of Flowers

“Hua Yuanyang
Qing dynasty. Yuanyang refused to convert to Catholicism when her husband chose to.
Heart note // Limit shame
Base note // Verbena”
― L.C. Chu, The Library of Flowers

“Hua Jingjing
Qing dynasty. Jingjing traded a moli perfume to Jesuit missionary and painter Giuseppe Castiglione in exchange for a portrait of her daughter.
Heart note // Enhance generosity in others
Base note // Ylang-ylang”
― L.C. Chu, The Library of Flowers

“Hua Tingwen
Qing dynasty. Tingwen's favorite novel was Dream of the Red Chamber, and her personal scent was inspired by Lin Daiyu.
Heart note // Increases attractiveness to others
Base note // Osmanthus”
― L.C. Chu, The Library of Flowers

“Hua Yitong
Qing dynasty. Yitong’s moli was in high demand after the Second Opium War.
Heart note // Reject numbness of heart
Base note // Jasmine”
― L.C. Chu, The Library of Flowers