 For instance, to miss out on a praetorship at 39 meant that one could not become consul at 42.Cicero expressed extreme pride not only in being a "novus homo" ("new man"; comparable to a "self-made man") who became consul even though none of his ancestors had ever served as a consul, but also in having become consul "in his year".The "cursus honorum" began with ten years of military duty in the Roman cavalry (the "equites") or in the staff of a general who was a relative or a friend of the family.