ABSTRACT
This chapter considers mystic logic, which as it appears in the Jacobin mind, plays a very important part. The other forms of logic—affective logic, collective logic, and rational logic—may predominate according to circumstances. The chief characteristic of the mystic temperament consists in the attribution of a mysterious power to superior beings or forces, which are incarnated in the form of idols, fetiches, words, or formulae. The mystic spirit is at the bottom of all the religious and most political beliefs. Grafted on the sentiments and passionate impulses which it directs, mystic logic constitutes the might of the great popular movements. The mystic and affective elements which dominate the mind of the Jacobin condemn him to an extreme simplicity. The passionate and mystical Jacobin is, on the contrary, easily intelligible. With these three elements—a very weak reasoning power, very strong passions, and an intense mysticism —we have the true psychological components of the mind of the Jacobin.
