ABSTRACT
A knowledge of the laws relating to the psychology of crowds is indispensable to the interpretation of the elements of the Revolution, and to a comprehension of the conduct of revolutionary assemblies, and the singular transformations of the individuals who form part of them. The history of the Revolution shows on every page how easily the multitude follows the most contradictory impulses given by its different leaders. Personal characteristics vanish in the crowd, which exerts an extraordinary influence upon the individuals which form it. The formation of a mental unity results chiefly from the fact that in a crowd gestures and actions are extremely contagious. A people differ from a crowd also in that it is composed of a collection of groups, each having different interests and passions. In a crowd properly so-called —a popular assembly, for example—there are unities which may belong to very different social categories.
