Note 315 — Chapter VII · THE NOBLE BY SERVICE.

This is necessary in a country where the materials of which weapons are fabricated are not abundant, which Tacitus notices as the case in Germany, “ne ferrum quidem superest, sicut ex genere telorum colligitur.” Germ. vi. Adventurers, ever on the move, are prone to realize their gains in the most portable shape. Kings, gems and arms are the natural form, and a Teutonic king’s treasury must have been filled with them, in preference to all other valuables.