The Marian Garden: Ancient and New

the ancients were accustomed to celebrate and sing of the outstanding deeds of others, sometimes in prose and sometimes in verse, so that they might ignite the minds of the youth to perform similar feats. But hear what the pious Aeneas, instilling these sparks into his son Ascanius, mentions regarding both his own distinguished works and those of his uncle Hector in Virgil:

Learn, boy, virtue from me, and true labor.
See that you do so, soon when mature age has grown:
Be mindful, and as you repeat the examples of your kin:
May Father Aeneas, and your uncle Hector excite you. Virgil, Aeneid 12.435-439

The Romans, moreover, above other nations, deeply urged these spurs upon their children, to the extent that when a father triumphed, they would place their small sons upon the triumphal chariot, so that, struck by the splendor of such an unusual honor, they might assume heroic spirits and aspire to an equal height. I have therefore decided to place our first Fathers, and others who served under their banners, before the eyes of their descendants