Sentence:  “I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, <WSD>idle</WSD>, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera, the gorged dowagers, the worn-out, passionless men, the enervated matrons of the summer capital,nb...!” 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful.