80 MONTMORT. 



see the work cited in Art. 59, pages 827, 836, 837, 8-i2, 846, 903, 

 985, 987, 989. 



139. We will now give a detailed account of Montmort's 

 work ; we will take the second edition as our standard, and point 

 out as occasion may require when our remarks do not apply to 

 the first edition also. 



140. The preface occupies XXIV pages. Montmort refers to 

 the fact that James Bernoulli had been engaged on a work entitled 

 De arte conjectandi, which his premature death had prevented him 

 from completing. Montmort's introduction to these studies had 

 arisen from the request of some friends that he would determine 

 the advantage of the banker at the game of Pharaon; and he had 

 been led on to compose a work which might compensate for the 

 loss of Bernoulli's. 



Montmort makes some judicious observations on the foolish 

 and superstitious notions which were prevalent among persons 

 devoted to games of chance, and proposes to check these by shew- 

 ing, not only to such persons but to men in general, that there 

 are rules in chance, and that for want of knowing these rules 

 mistakes are made which entail adverse results; and these results 

 men impute to destiny instead of to their own ignorance. Per- 

 haps however he speaks rather as a philosopher than as a gambler 

 when he says positively on his page vili, 



On joueroit sans donte avec plus d'agrement si Ton pouvoit sgavoir 

 a chaqne coup I'esperance qu'on a de gagner, ou le risque que I'on court 

 de perdre. On seroit plus tranquile sur les evenemens du jeu, et on 

 sentiroit mieux le ridicule de ces plaintes continuelles ausquelles se 

 laissent aller la plupart des Joueurs dans les rencontres les plus com- 

 munes, lorsqu'elles leur sout conti'aires. 



141. Montmort divides his work into four parts. The first 

 part contains the theory of combinations ; the second part discusses 

 certain games of chance depending on cards ; the third part dis- 

 cusses certain games of chance depending on dice; the fourth 

 part contains the solution of various problems in chances, including 

 the five problems proposed by Huygens. To these four parts 

 must be added the letters to which we have alluded in Art. 137. 



