20 ESSAY ON PROBABILITIES. 



how to write. But the fear that those who seek 

 a livelihood by what is commonly called gambling, 

 which always means cards, dice, or horse-racing, &c., 

 would be much increased in number, if at all, by such 

 a pursuit as the mathematical appreciation of proba- 

 bilities, seems to me grounded upon a want of know- 

 ledge of human nature. Putting out of view the 

 tendency of all serious thought to lead the mind to a 

 perception of its own resources, and to furnish methods 

 of employing time ; and not even considering that the 

 demand for this baneful excitement is controlled by the 

 opinion of society, and lessened by the amount of edu- 

 cation: there still remain the means of showing that 

 the baknce is in favour of a study of the theory of 

 probabilities, even as a preventive of this very gambling 

 which it is said to provoke. Nemo repente fuit tur- 

 pissimus : and, it will be one of our objects to show, 

 that the person who lives by gaming, deserves the 

 strongest form of the adjective. No one ever said to 

 himself, I have not played hitherto, but I will begin 

 henceforward to make it my trade. A young man who 

 is ruined by play in the first instance, or who, at least, 

 has begun by courting as an amusement what he ends 

 by requiring as an occupation, is the subject of which 

 a gambler is made. Now, suppose that ah 1 those who 

 have been ruined by play had been trained to under- 

 stand the true nature of their pursuit. Let it be 

 granted that some of them are so fond of acquisition, 

 that it is only necessary to point out a plausible method 

 to insure their following it : yet we must grant, on the 

 other side, that there will be some who can be per- 

 suaded that when they play against a bank or a 

 gamester, they are almost certain of playing on very 

 unequal terms, which is never what they contemplate 

 and intend. The only question is, which of the two 

 numbers will be the greatest ; 1 . Of those who be- 

 come gamesters prepense, or, 2. Of those who either 

 take a total or a partial warning; -the latter in a 

 degree sufficient to insure a fair chance for them- 



