the crowd-第25节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


ccess　was　always　one　of　the　most　important。　　Every　successful　man；　every　idea　that　forces　itself　into　recognition；　ceases；　ipso　facto；　to　be　called　in　question。　　The　proof　that　success　is　one　of　the　principal　stepping…stones　to　prestige　is　that　the　disappearance　of　the　one　is　almost　always　followed　by　the　disappearance　of　the　other。　　The　hero　whom　the　crowd　acclaimed　yesterday　is　insulted　to…day　should　he　have　been　overtaken　by　failure。　　The　reaction；　indeed；　will　be　the　stronger　in　proportion　as　the　prestige　has　been　great。　　The　crowd　in　this　case　considers　the　fallen　hero　as　an　equal；　and　takes　its　revenge　for　having　bowed　to　a　superiority　whose　existence　it　no　longer　admits。　　While　Robespierre　was　causing　the　execution　of　his　colleagues　and　of　a　great　number　of　his　contemporaries；　he　possessed　an　immense　prestige。　　When　the　transposition　of　a　few　votes　deprived　him　of　power；　he　immediately　lost　his　prestige；　and　the　crowd　followed　him　to　the　guillotine　with　the　self…same　imprecations　with　which　shortly　before　it　had　pursued　his　victims。　　Believers　always　break　the　statues　of　their　former　gods　with　every　symptom　of　fury。

Prestige　lost　by　want　of　success　disappears　in　a　brief　space　of　time。　　It　can　also　be　worn　away；　but　more　slowly　by　being　subjected　to　discussion。　　This　latter　power；　however；　is　exceedingly　sure。　　From　the　moment　prestige　is　called　in　question　it　ceases　to　be　prestige。　　The　gods　and　men　who　have　kept　their　prestige　for　long　have　never　tolerated　discussion。　　For　the　crowd　to　admire；　it　must　be　kept　at　a　distance。


CHAPTER　IV

LIMITATIONS　OF　THE　VARIABILITY　OF　THE　BELIEFS　AND　OPINIONS　OF　CROWDS

1。　FIXED　BELIEFS。　The　invariability　of　certain　general　beliefsThey　shape　the　course　of　a　civilisationThe　difficulty　of　uprooting　themIn　what　respect　intolerance　is　a　virtue　in　a　peopleThe　philosophic　absurdity　of　a　belief　cannot　interfere　with　its　spreading。　　　2。　THE　CHANGEABLE　OPINIONS　OF　CROWDS。　The　extreme　mobility　of　opinions　which　do　not　arise　from　general　beliefsApparent　variations　of　ideas　and　beliefs　in　less　than　a　centuryThe　real　limits　of　these　variationsThe　matters　effected　by　the　variationThe　disappearance　at　present　in　progress　of　general　beliefs；　and　the　extreme　diffusion　of　the　newspaper　press；　have　for　result　that　opinions　are　nowadays　more　and　more　changeableWhy　the　opinions　of　crowds　tend　on　the　majority　of　subjects　towards　indifferenceGovernments　now　powerless　to　direct　opinion　as　they　formerly　didOpinions　prevented　to…day　from　being　tyrannical　on　account　of　their　exceeding　divergency。


1。　FIXED　BELIEFS

A　close　parallel　exists　between　the　anatomical　and　psychological　characteristics　of　living　beings。　In　these　anatomical　characteristics　certain　invariable；　or　slightly　variable；　elements　are　met　with；　to　change　which　the　lapse　is　necessary　of　geological　ages。　　Side　by　side　with　these　fixed；　indestructible　features　are　to　be　found　others　extremely　changeable；　which　the　art　of　the　breeder　or　horticulturist　may　easily　modify；　and　at　times　to　such　an　extent　as　to　conceal　the　fundamental　characteristics　from　an　observer　at　all　inattentive。

The　same　phenomenon　is　observed　in　the　case　of　moral　characteristics。　　Alongside　the　unalterable　psychological　elements　of　a　race；　mobile　and　changeable　elements　are　to　be　encountered。　　For　this　reason；　in　studying　the　beliefs　and　opinions　of　a　people；　the　presence　is　always　detected　of　a　fixed　groundwork　on　which　are　engrafted　opinions　as　changing　as　the　surface　sand　on　a　rock。

The　opinions　and　beliefs　of　crowds　may　be　divided；　then；　into　two　very　distinct　classes。　　On　the　one　hand　we　have　great　permanent　beliefs；　which　endure　for　several　centuries；　and　on　which　an　entire　civilisation　may　rest。　　Such；　for　instance；　in　the　past　were　feudalism；　Christianity；　and　Protestantism；　and　such；　in　our　own　time；　are　the　nationalist　principle　and　contemporary　democratic　and　social　ideas。　　In　the　second　place；　there　are　the　transitory；　changing　opinions；　the　outcome；　as　a　rule；　of　general　conceptions；　of　which　every　age　sees　the　birth　and　disappearance；　examples　in　point　are　the　theories　which　mould　literature　and　the　artsthose；　for　instance；　which　produced　romanticism；　naturalism；　mysticism；　&c。　　Opinions　of　this　order　are　as　superficial；　as　a　rule；　as　fashion；　and　as　changeable。　　They　may　be　compared　to　the　ripples　which　ceaselessly　arise　and　vanish　on　the　surface　of　a　deep　lake。

The　great　generalised　beliefs　are　very　restricted　in　number。　Their　rise　and　fall　form　the　culminating　points　of　the　history　of　every　historic　race。　　They　constitute　the　real　framework　of　civilisation。

It　is　easy　to　imbue　the　mind　of　crowds　with　a　passing　opinion；　but　very　difficult　to　implant　therein　a　lasting　belief。　　However；　a　belief　of　this　latter　description　once　established；　it　is　equally　difficult　to　uproot　it。　　It　is　usually　only　to　be　changed　at　the　cost　of　violent　revolutions。　　Even　revolutions　can　only　avail　when　the　belief　has　almost　entirely　lost　its　sway　over　men's　minds。　　In　that　case　revolutions　serve　to　finally　sweep　away　what　had　already　been　almost　cast　aside；　though　the　force　of　habit　prevented　its　complete　abandonment。　　The　beginning　of　a　revolution　is　in　reality　the　end　of　a　belief。

The　precise　moment　at　which　a　great　belief　is　doomed　is　easily　recognisable；　it　is　the　moment　when　its　value　begins　to　be　called　in　question。　　Every　general　belief　being　little　else　than　a　fiction；　it　can　only　survive　on　the　condition　that　it　be　not　subjected　to　examination。

But　even　when　a　belief　is　severely　shaken；　the　institutions　to　which　it　has　given　rise　retain　their　strength　and　disappear　but　slowly。　　Finally；　when　the　belief　has　completely　lost　its　force；　all　that　rested　upon　it　is　soon　involved　in　ruin。　　As　yet　a　nation　has　never　been　able　to　change　its　beliefs　without　being　condemned　at　the　same　time　to　transform　all　the　elements　of　its　civilisation。　　The　nation　continues　this　process　of　transformation　until　it　has　alighted　on　and　accepted　a　new　general　belief：　until　this　juncture　it　is　perforce　in　a　state　of　anarchy。　　General　beliefs　are　the　indispensable　pillars　of　civilisations；　they　determine　the　trend　of　ideas。　　They　alone　are　capable　of　inspiring　faith　and　creating　a　sense　of　duty。

Nations　have　always　been　conscious　of　the　utility　of　acquiring　general　beliefs；　and　have　instinctively　understood　that　their　disappearance　would　be　the　signal　for　their　own　decline。　　In　the　case　of　the　Romans；　the　fanatical　cult　of　Rome　was　the　belief　that　made　them　masters　of　the　world；　and　when　the　belief　had　died　out　Rome　was　doomed　to　die。　　As　for　the　barbarians　who　destroyed　the　Roman　civilisation；　it　was　only　when　they　had　acquired　certain　commonly　accepted　beliefs　that　they　attained　a　measure　of　cohesion　and　emerged　from　anarchy。

Plainly　it　is　not　for　nothing　that　nations　have　always　displayed　intolerance　in　the　defence　of　their　opinions。　　This　intolerance；　open　as　it　is　to　criticism　from　the　philosophic　standpoint；　represents　in　the　life　of　a　people　the　most　necessary　of　virtues。　It　was　to　found　or　uphold　general　beliefs　that　so　many　victims　were　sent　to　the　stake　in　the　Middle　Ages　and　that　so　many　inventors　and　innovators　have　died　in　despair　even　if　they　have　escaped　martyrdom。　　It　is　in　defence；　too；　of　such　beliefs　that　the　world　has　been　so　often　the　scene　of　the　direst　disorder；　and　that　so　many　millions　of　men　have　died　on　the　battlefield；　and　will　yet　die　there。

There　are　great　difficulties　in　the　way　of　establishing　a　general　belief；　but　when　it　is　definitely　implanted　its　power　is　for　a　long　time　to　come　invincible；　and　however　false　it　be　philosophically　it　imposes　itself　upon　the　most　luminous　intelligence。　　Have　not　the　European　peoples　regarded　as　incontrovertible　for　more　than　fifteen　centuries　religious　legends　which；　closely　examined；　are　as　barbarous＇21＇　as　those　of　Moloch？　　The　frightful　absurdity　of　the　legend　of　a　God　who　revenges　himself　for　the　disobedience　of　one　of　his　creatures　by　inflicting　horrible　tortures　on　his　son　remained　unperceived　during　many　centuries。　　Such　potent　geniuses　as　a　Galileo；　a　Newton；　and　a　Leibnitz　never　supposed　for　an　instant　that　the　truth　of　such　dogmas　could　be　called　in　question。　　Nothing　can　be　more　typical　than　this　fact　of　the　hypnotising　effect　of　general　beliefs；　but　at　the　same　time　nothing　can　mark　more　decisively　the　humiliating　limitations　of　our　intelligence。


＇21＇　Barbarous；　philosophically　speaking；　I　mean。　　In　practice　they　have　created　an　entirely　new　civilisation；　and　for　fifteen　centuries　have　given　mankind　a　glimpse　of　those　enchanted　realms　of　generous　dreams　and　of　hope　which　he　will　know　no　more。



As　soon　as　a　new　dogma　is　implanted　in　the　mind　of　crowds　it　becomes　the　source　of　inspiration　whence　are　evolved　its　institutions；　arts；　and　mode　of　existence。　　The　sway　it　exerts　over　men's　minds　under　these　circumstances　is　absolute。　　Men　of　action　have　no　thought　beyond　realising　the　accepted　belief；　legislators　beyond　applying　it；　while　philosophers；　artists；　and　men　of　letters　are　solely　preoccupied　with　its　expression　under　various　shapes。

From　the　fundamental　belief　transient　accessory　ideas　may　arise；　but　they　always　bear　the　impress　of　the　belief　from　which　they　have　sprung。　　The