《乌合之众·第二编·群体的意见与信念·群体的领袖及其说服手段》第3节
The arousing of faith--whether religious, political, or social, whether faith in a work, in a person, or an idea--has always been the function of the great leaders of crowds, and it is on this account that their influence is always very great. Of all the forces at the disposal of humanity, faith has always been one of the most tremendous, and the gospel rightly attributes to it the power of moving mountains. To endow a man with faith is to multiply his strength tenfold. The great events of history have been brought about by obscure believers, who have had little beyond their faith in their favour. It is not by the aid of the learned or of philosophers, and still less of sceptics, that have been built up the great religions which have swayed the world, or the vast empires which have spread from one hemisphere to the other. In the cases just cited, however, we are dealing with great leaders, and they are so few in number that history can easily reckon them up. They form the summit of a continuous series, which extends from these powerful masters of men down to the workman who, in the smoky atmosphere of an inn, slowly fascinates his comrades by ceaselessly drumming into their ears a few set phrases, whose purport he scarcely comprehends, but the application of which, according to him, must surely bring about the realisation of all dreams and of every hope.
注释摘要
勒庞在这一段提出了一个贯穿全书的核心命题：伟大领袖的首要功能，不是提供理论、不是规划战略，而是唤起信仰。这种信仰可以是宗教的、政治的、社会的，可以指向一项事业、一个人或一个观念；它的本质是非理性的、绝对的，而正因为如此，它对群体的驱动力才远远超过任何论证或怀疑。勒庞认为，信仰是人类可支配的最可怕的力量之一，福音书所说能移山的，正是这种东西。一个人一旦被信仰…