Giuseppe Maria Mitelli (1634–1718), was an artist from Bologna who would put his scratchy sarcasm in a lot habits of the society of his time, and made here this teasing semi-serious analysis of gambling.
This remark of his adapts quite well to the story of a certain Luigi q.m Gio. Quirini - who was quite poor - and made in gambling, with time and good luck, an extraordinary gain of 200,000 Ducati.
That must have been a huge amount of money, at the time. If there is another story of a guy who won 4,000 Ducati and made it rich … we can have an idea of what this 200,000 Ducati could have meant!
But Quirini ended up losing all his fortune, and in 1709, when he died, he was poorer than when he was born.
"CHI GIOCA PER BISOGNO
PERDE PER NECESSITÀ
Sempre più si consuma, e sempre perde
Chi mendico arricchir tenta co l gioco,
Poiche fallace è di sua speme il verde."
"WHO PLAYS FOR NEED
LOSES FOR NECESSITY
He wears out, and always loses
The wretched who tries
to become rich with gambling,
Because the green* misleads his expectation."
* green of course means here
the color of the gambling tables ...
