《乌合之众·第三编·不同群体的分类与描述·选举群体》第7节
"The tumult only increased as the evening went on; I do not believe that a single orator succeeded in uttering two sentences without being interrupted. At every instant there came shouts from this or that direction or from every direction at once. Applause was intermingled with hissing, violent discussions were in progress between individual members of the audience, sticks were brandished threateningly, others beat a tattoo on the floor, and the interrupters were greeted with yells of `Put him out!' or `Let him speak!' "M. C---- lavished such epithets as odious and cowardly, monstrous, vile, venal and vindictive, on the Association, which he declared he wanted to destroy," &c., &c. How, it may be asked, can an elector form an opinion under such conditions? To put such a question is to harbour a strange delusion as to the measure of liberty that may be enjoyed by a collectivity. Crowds have opinions that have been imposed upon them, but they never boast reasoned opinions. In the case under consideration the opinions and votes of the electors are in the hands of the election committees, whose leading spirits are, as a rule, publicans, their influence over the working men, to whom they allow credit, being great. "Do you know what an election committee is?" writes M. Scherer, one of the most valiant champions of present-day democracy. "It is neither more nor less than the corner-stone of our institutions, the masterpiece of the political machine. France is governed to-day by the election committees."[26]
注释摘要
这段引文出自1895年2月13日《时报》对一场学生集会的报道，勒庞用它来完成一个关键的论证跳板：连受过高等教育的年轻人在聚集成群之后，其行为也与任何底层民众的集会毫无二致。他的推论直指一个令当时共和派知识分子不安的命题——个体的教育水平和理性能力，在群体状态下几乎完全失效。吼叫、跺脚、挥舞手杖、互相投掷辱骂词汇，这些场景在勒庞看来并非情绪失控的偶然事故，而…