Focusing on it as a subjective phenomenon, this is the first study to explore the aesthetic and ethical dimensions of chance by contrasting works that centre on mathematical probability and gambling. A re-examination of the work of major authors - including Montaigne, Corneille, Moliere, Lafayette, Scudery, Pascal, Racine, Bossuet and La Bruyere - shows how they struggled to represent a world that is both random and meaningful.