《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24节
Still, the various examples that have just been cited represent extreme cases. To fix in detail the psychology of prestige, it would be necessary to place them at the extremity of a series, which would range from the founders of religions and empires to the private individual who endeavours to dazzle his neighbours by a new coat or a decoration. Between the extreme limits of this series would find a place all the forms of prestige resulting from the different elements composing a civilisation--sciences, arts, literature, &c.--and it would be seen that prestige constitutes the fundamental element of persuasion. Consciously or not, the being, the idea, or the thing possessing prestige is immediately imitated in consequence of contagion, and forces an entire generation to adopt certain modes of feeling and of giving expression to its thought. This imitation, moreover, is, as a rule, unconscious, which accounts for the fact that it is perfect. The modern painters who copy the pale colouring and the stiff attitudes of some of the Primitives are scarcely alive to the source of their inspiration. They believe in their own sincerity, whereas, if an eminent master had not revived this form of art, people would have continued blind to all but its naive and inferior sides. Those artists who, after the manner of another illustrious master, inundate their canvasses with violet shades do not see in nature more violet than was detected there fifty years ago; but they are influenced, "suggestioned," by the personal and special impressions of a painter who, in spite of this eccentricity, was successful in acquiring great prestige. Similar examples might be brought forward in connection with all the elements of civilisation.
注释摘要
这段论述在勒庞全书框架里，其实是一次试图将"名望"从极端个案拉回到日常文明运作之中的理论努力。此前他已用拿破仑、苏伊士运河的开凿者德·雷赛布等人物来说明个人名望的惊人力量，但他意识到，如果只谈这些历史巨人，读者很容易以为名望是一种只属于少数超凡人物的神秘禀赋。因此在这一段中，他要把名望放回一条连续的序列里，从宗教与帝国的创立者，一直延伸到某个普通人穿上一件…