Think of your forefathers and posterity.

The injunction urges a moral and civic imagination that stretches beyond the present moment. By recalling one’s “forefathers,” the speaker invokes inherited standards—ancestral honor, duty, and the weight of tradition. By also considering “posterity,” the quote frames action in terms of legacy and long-term consequence: decisions should be measured not only against immediate advantage but against how they will be judged by future generations. In Tacitean terms, it resonates with his recurring concern for reputation (fama), public virtue, and the corrosive effects of tyranny and moral compromise on Rome’s historical memory.