If his early ancestors were undistinguished but those who come nearer his own time were men of repute, you must dwell upon his descent from the latter and say that it would be tedious to speak at length about his early forefathers, and you must show that the immediate ancestors of those whom you are eulogizing were good men; adding that it is quite clear that their ancestors must have been good men and true, for it is hardly likely that such excellent and worthy persons can have been born of bad parents.