“This great empress of the human soul
Does only with imagined power control,
If restless passion, by rebellious sway,
Compels the weak usurper to obey.”
So far as the history of gambling has ignored causes and neglected remedies, it is incomplete. That it is deficient in both is my reason for this book. Some one should begin the subject where other authors have deserted it.
I have long made a study of gaming in all its aspects and relations; aiming, the while, at breadth, impartiality and thoroughness. At first my reading was not conducted with a view to authorship. I desired information for its own sake. As a gamester, I sought the philosophy of gaming.
What is chance? How far does it influence all mankind and circumscribe their efforts? What is gambling, in the broadest sense of the term? Is gaming wrong per se: i.e., absolutely vicious? Where in human nature is the passion grounded? Why does the propensity exist? Is it an inevitable tendency of human nature? What is morality? Wherein does the gambler differ from other men? How should his occupation be distinguished from business generally? How far may the conduct of an individual be dictated by society? How may the essentially punitive be distinguished from that which is not so? What are the true limits of State power in relation to appetites and propensities? Are sumptuary laws effectual? Does history, as the philosophy of example, justify such enactments? Can the law eradicate innate tendencies? Can character be transformed by statute? Is it possible to legislate morality into mankind? What should be the policy of statesmen and reformers in the realm of morals? If it is not possible to extirpate the passions by law, how may they be regulated, directed, educated and purified?
Such were the problems that confronted my understanding. Each and all were resolved to the best of my knowledge and capacity. I make my observations public in the interests of fair play and common sense. I am at least entitled to the literary chances of a reading age.
I have dallied with fickle fortune for years. As gamester, I anticipated prejudices against the pursuit. My deductions are amply fortified, therefore, from the mature studies of great and wise men. I did not expect my book to stand unsupported. It is substantiated, throughout, by the teachings of profound and impartial philosophers.
CONTENTS.
| Page | |
| Publisher’s Note, | [3] |
| Dedication, | [5] |
| Preface, | [7] |
| Introduction, | [19] |
| The Worship of Fortuna, | [27] |
| What is Truth; or, The Philosopher’s Stone? | [46] |
| The Destinies; or, The Reign of Law, | [103] |
| Legislative Exorcism; or, The Belief in Word-Magic, | [139] |
| “The King is Dead—Long Live the King!”, | [211] |