DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1041#0012
x History of the Society of Dilettanti
public throughout Europe. There may be persons,
outside the limited circle of its members, who will
feel some surprise on learning that such a society
exists; that it was founded in the early years
of the reign of George II; and has maintained
its existence with an unbroken record up to the
present day. This fact is the more remarkable,
since, although the Royal Society and the Society of
Antiquaries are actually older in point of date, the
Society of Dilettanti was not formed, as these were,
with any definite intention of promoting the cause of
either science or art, but simply, in the first instance,
for the purposes of social and convivial intercourse.
state of The foundation of the Society almost coincides
England at with what may be termed the birth of modern
ttsfounda- Engfland. The accession of George II, in itself an
unromantic and apparently unimportant incident in
the history of England, nevertheless forms one of the
landmarks in that history. The final establishment
on the throne of the Hanoverian branch of the
Guelphs marks the close of the long struggle which
had reached its climax in the Revolution of itf88.
It denotes the complete extinction of any popular
sympathy with the Jacobite cause, as was shown
by the behaviour of the populace during the events
of 17AS- A new era had commenced in England,
an era of progress, consolidation, and reform, equally
marked in matters political, social, and commercial,
in questions civil or religious, and in education,
science, and art. The long ascendency of Sir Robert
Walpole, as first minister of the Crown, taught the
country for the first time to look to the prime minister
as the real governing power, while the vigorous
opposition excited by his administration opened its
eyes to the advantages of the party system. It was
public throughout Europe. There may be persons,
outside the limited circle of its members, who will
feel some surprise on learning that such a society
exists; that it was founded in the early years
of the reign of George II; and has maintained
its existence with an unbroken record up to the
present day. This fact is the more remarkable,
since, although the Royal Society and the Society of
Antiquaries are actually older in point of date, the
Society of Dilettanti was not formed, as these were,
with any definite intention of promoting the cause of
either science or art, but simply, in the first instance,
for the purposes of social and convivial intercourse.
state of The foundation of the Society almost coincides
England at with what may be termed the birth of modern
ttsfounda- Engfland. The accession of George II, in itself an
unromantic and apparently unimportant incident in
the history of England, nevertheless forms one of the
landmarks in that history. The final establishment
on the throne of the Hanoverian branch of the
Guelphs marks the close of the long struggle which
had reached its climax in the Revolution of itf88.
It denotes the complete extinction of any popular
sympathy with the Jacobite cause, as was shown
by the behaviour of the populace during the events
of 17AS- A new era had commenced in England,
an era of progress, consolidation, and reform, equally
marked in matters political, social, and commercial,
in questions civil or religious, and in education,
science, and art. The long ascendency of Sir Robert
Walpole, as first minister of the Crown, taught the
country for the first time to look to the prime minister
as the real governing power, while the vigorous
opposition excited by his administration opened its
eyes to the advantages of the party system. It was