The Monkey Connoisseurs (1837) by Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps

I call myself an amateur and a dilettante, despite the negative connotations these two terms carry.

I want to restore to them their original meaning, which is to be found in their etymologies, love in the case of amateur (from amor) and delight in the case of dilettante (ultimately from delectare from whence also came delicatessen for example).

I even dislike the antonym of amateur and dilletante, which is professionalism, a term tainted by the connotation of monetary pursuits and of being close-mindedly ‘stuck’ in a field of expertise.

I’m sure the monkeys agree.