“I know, I know what you mean,” said Miriam in contemplation, they were naive; showing their thoughts, in sets, readable, with shapes and edges, but it was the Tories and clerics who had the roomiest, most sympathetic expressions, liberals and nonconformists had no thoughts at all, only ideas. Lawyers had no ideas even. …
“You would like my father; he hasn’t a scrap of originality, only that funny old-fashioned English quality from somewhere or other Heaven knows.” … and they could play chess together! … “But lawyers are not gentlemen. They are perfectly awful.”
“That is a prejudice. Your English law is the very basis of your English freedom.”
“They are awful. The others look Christians. They don’t .” Fancy defending Christianity. …
“The thing you are seeing,” she said, “is Christianity. I don’t mean that there is anything in it; but Christian ideas have made English civilisation; that’s what it is. But how can you say all these things when you believe we are grabbing diamond mines?” Haw, what ? Champagne and Grand pianos. Nice, jolly prejudiced simpletons ; not even able to imagine that England ought not to have everything there was to be had, everywhere. Quite right, better for everybody … but … wir reiten, Pieter, reiten … oh Lord … who was right?
“Stop a bit, stop a bit. Christianity will not explain. There are other Christian countries where there is no sign of this thing that is in England. No. The explanation is very simple. It is that you have had in England through a variety of causes, not the least of which is your Protestant Reformation, a relatively very rapid and unrestricted secular development.”