The passion for arms among the Germanic stateswas carried to extremity. It was amidst scenes ofdeath and peril that the young were educated : It wasby valor and feats of prowess that the ambitioussignalized their manhood. All the honors they knewwere allotted to the brave. The sword opened thepath to glory. It was in the field that the ingenuousand the noble flattered most their pride, and acquiredan ascendancy. The strength of their bodies, andthe vigor of their counsels, surrounded them withwarriou r s, and lifted them to command (1)

But, among these nations, when the individualfelt the call of valor, and wiflied to try his strengthagainst an enemy, he could not of his own authoritytake the lance and the javelin. The admission of theiryouth to the privilege of bearing arms, was a matterof too much importance to be left to chance or theirown choice A form was invented by which theywere advanced to that honor.

The council of the district, or of the canton towhich the candidate belonged, was assembled. Hisage and his qualifications were inquired into ; and ,if he was deemed worthy of being admitted to theprivileges of a soldier , a chieftain, his father, orone of his kindred, adorned him with the shield andthe lance. In consequence of this solemnity , he pre-pared to distinguish himself; his mind opened to thecares of the public; and the domestic concerns, orthe offices of the family from which he had sprung ,where no longer the objects of his attention (a).

To this ceremony, so simple and so interesting,the institution of knighthood is indebted for its rife