ABSTRACT
In the case of human crowds the chief is often nothing more than a ringleader or agitator, but as such he plays a considerable part. Nations have never lacked leaders, but all of the latter have by no means been animated by those strong convictions proper to apostles. These leaders are often subtle rhetoricians, seeking only their own personal interest, and endeavouring to persuade by flattering base instincts. In every social sphere, from the highest to lowest, as soon as a man ceases to be isolated he speedily falls under influence of a leader. Leaders and agitators tend more and more to usurp the place of public authorities in proportion as the latter allow themselves to be called in question and shorn of their strength. The great leaders of crowds, such as Buddha, Joan of Arc, and Napoleon, have possessed the form of prestige in a high degree, and to this endowment is more particularly due the position they attained.
