| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Crowd by Gustave le Bon: character of the race; then takes place that turning already
alluded to of all the feelings and thoughts of the collectivity
in an identical direction. It is only under such circumstances,
too, that what I have called above the PSYCHOLOGICAL LAW OF THE
MENTAL UNITY OF CROWDS comes into play.
Among the psychological characteristics of crowds there are some
that they may present in common with isolated individuals, and
others, on the contrary, which are absolutely peculiar to them
and are only to be met with in collectivities. It is these
special characteristics that we shall study, first of all, in
order to show their importance.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift: that I should be conducted in safety to Nangasac." To this I
added another petition, "that for the sake of my patron the king
of Luggnagg, his majesty would condescend to excuse my performing
the ceremony imposed on my countrymen, of trampling upon the
crucifix: because I had been thrown into his kingdom by my
misfortunes, without any intention of trading." When this latter
petition was interpreted to the Emperor, he seemed a little
surprised; and said, "he believed I was the first of my
countrymen who ever made any scruple in this point; and that he
began to doubt, whether I was a real Hollander, or not; but
rather suspected I must be a Christian. However, for the reasons
Gulliver's Travels |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: and pulled, but was hardly able to loosen the soil about its
roots. What a deep-rooted plant it was! Again the girl pulled
with all her might, and observed that the earth began to stir
and crack to some distance around the stem. She gave another
pull, but relaxed her hold, fancying that there was a rumbling
sound right beneath her feet. Did the roots extend down into
some enchanted cavern? Then laughing at herself for so childish
a notion, she made another effort: up came the shrub, and
Proserpina staggered back, holding the stem triumphantly in her
hand, and gazing at the deep hole which its roots had left in
the soil.
Tanglewood Tales |
