"If we were ever to succeed in determining the oldest cultural stage of the Indian race . . . and to dissolve away almost by means of a chemical process all influences of . . . Brahmanism . . . we would find conditions before us only a little different from those described by Tacitus as unique to the ancient Germans. But even in its contemporary ruined form the Mahābhārata often delivers us the best commentary on Germania. Here we read of the passion for gambling of the Germans, of how they wagered possessions and property, wife and child, [and] finally even themselves: extremo ac novissimo iactu de liberate contendunt [sic]."