Past and Present

Chapter 3

Gospel of Dilettantism

But after all, the Gospel of Dilettantism, producing a Governing

Class who do not govern, nor understand in the least that they

are bound or expected to govern, is still mournfuler than that of

Mammonism. Mammonism, as we said, at least works; this goes

idle. Mammonism has seized some portion of the message of Nature

to man; and seizing that, and following it, will seize and

appropriate more and more of Nature's message: but Dilettantism

has missed it wholly. 'Make money:' that will mean withal, 'Do

work in order to make money.' But, 'Go gracefully idle in

Mayfair,' what does or can that mean? An idle, game-preserving

and even corn-Jawing Aristocracy, in such an England as ours:

has the world, if we take thought of it, ever seen such a

phenomenon till ve