[105] Ille dolet vere qui sine teste dolet. Martial, lib. I.

[106] Plutarch, _Cato._


Julius Caesar did not drink; but what a profligate he was! And
I have no doubt that he was a gambler: it is certain that he got
rid of millions nobody knew how.

I believe, however, that the following is an undeniable fact.
You may find suspicious gamesters in every rank of life, but
among men of genius you will generally, if not always, find only
victims resigned to the caprices of fortune. The
professions which imply the greatest enthusiasm naturally
furnish the greater number of gamesters. Thus, perhaps, we may
name ten poet-gamesters to one savant or philosopher who deserved
the title or infamy.

Coquillart, a poet of the 15th century, famous for his satirical
verses against women, died of grief after having ruined himself
by gaming. The great painter Guido--and a painter is certainly a
poet--was another example. By nature gentle and honourable, he
might have been the most fortunate of men if the demon of
gambling had not poisoned his existence, the end of which was
truly wretched.

Rotrou, the acknowledged master of Corneille, hurried his
poetical effusions in order to raise money for gambling. This