《乌合之众·第一编·群体的心理·群体的情感与道德》第2节
The varying impulses to which crowds obey may be, according to their exciting causes, generous or cruel, heroic or cowardly, but they will always be so imperious that the interest of the individual, even the interest of self-preservation, will not dominate them. The exciting causes that may act on crowds being so varied, and crowds always obeying them, crowds are in consequence extremely mobile. This explains how it is that we see them pass in a moment from the most bloodthirsty ferocity to the most extreme generosity and heroism. A crowd may easily enact the part of an executioner, but not less easily that of a martyr. It is crowds that have furnished the torrents of blood requisite for the triumph of every belief. It is not necessary to go back to the heroic ages to see what crowds are capable of in this latter direction. They are never sparing of their life in an insurrection, and not long since a general,[2] becoming suddenly popular, might easily have found a hundred thousand men ready to sacrifice their lives for his cause had he demanded it. [2] General Boulanger. Any display of premeditation by crowds is in consequence out of the question. They may be animated in succession by the most contrary sentiments, but they will always be under the influence of the exciting causes of the moment. They are like the leaves which a tempest whirls up and scatters in every direction and then allows to fall. When studying later on certain revolutionary crowds we shall give some examples of the variability of their sentiments.
注释摘要
勒庞在这一段试图证明群体的冲动具有一个关键特征：无论其倾向是高尚还是残忍，这些冲动都如此专横，以至于压倒了个体的自保本能。他用的例子来自两个层面。历史层面，他指向法国大革命期间的九月屠杀与志愿军的献身——同一群人既可以是刽子手也可以成为烈士，十字军东征时，大批平民为一种他们不甚理解的信仰而慷慨赴死。同时代层面，他提到布朗热将军，这位在1880年代末煽动起狂…