same effect.  It would seem to me that if I settled myself in one place in the midst of such splendour, I should banish myself from every other place, and imprison myself, so to speak, in my palace.  The world is a palace fair enough for any one; and is not everything at the disposal of the rich man when he seeks enjoyment?  “Ubi bene, ibi patria,” that is his motto; his home is anywhere where money will carry him, his country is anywhere where there is room for his strong-box, as Philip considered as his own any place where a mule laden with silver could enter. [Footnote:  A stranger, splendidly clad, was asked in Athens what country he belonged to.  “I am one of the rich,” was his answer; and a very good answer in my opinion.] Why then should we shut ourselves up within walls and gates as if we never meant to leave them?  If pestilence, war, or rebellion drive me from one place, I go to another, and I find my hotel there before me.  Why should I build a mansion for myself when the world is already at my disposal?  Why should I be in such a hurry to live, to bring from afar delights which I can find on the spot?  It is impossible to make a pleasant life for oneself when one is always at war with oneself.  Thus Empedocles reproached the men of Agrigentum with heaping up pleasures as if they had but one day to live, and building as if they would live for ever.

And what use have I for so large a dwelling, as I have so few people to live in it, and still fewer goods to fill it?  My furniture would be as simple as my tastes; I would have neither picture-gallery nor library, especially if I was fond of reading and knew something about pictures.  I should then know that such collections are never complete, and that the lack of that which is wanting causes more annoyance than if one had nothing at all.  In this respect abundance is the cause of want, as every collector knows to his cost.  If you are an expert, do not make a collection; if you know how to use your cabinets, you will not have any to show.

Gambling is no sport for the rich, it is the resource of those who have nothing to do; I shall be so busy with my pleasures that I shall have no time to waste.  I am poor and lonely and I never play, unless it is a game of chess now and then, and that is more than enough.  If I were rich I would play even less, and for very low stakes, so that I should not be disappointed myself, nor see the disappointment of others.  The wealthy man has no motive for play, and the love of play will not degenerate into the passion for gambling unless the disposition is evil.  The rich man is always more keenly aware of his losses than his gains, and as in games where the stakes are not high the winnings are generally exhausted in the long run, he will usually lose more than he gains, so that if we reason rightly we shall scarcely take a great fancy to games where the odds are against us.  He who flatters his vanity so far as to believe that Fortune