The following work is devoted to an account of the characteristics of crowds. Organised crowds have always played an important part in the life of peoples, but this part has never been of such moment as at present. The substitution of the unconscious action of crowds for the conscious activity of individuals is one of the principal characteristics of the present age.

Crowds, doubtless, are always unconscious, but this very unconsciousness is perhaps one of the secrets of their strength. In the natural world beings exclusively

governed by instinct accomplish acts whose marvellous complexity astounds us. Reason is an attribute of humanity of too recent date and still too imperfect to reveal to us the laws of the unconscious, and still more to take its place. The part played by the unconscious in all our acts is immense, and that played by reason very small. The unconscious acts like a force still unknown

下面的作品专门介绍了人群的特点。有组织的人群在人们的生活中一直扮演着重要角色，但这一角色从未像现在这样重要。用人群的无意识行动代替个人的有意识活动是当今时代的主要特征之一。

毫无疑问，人群总是无意识的，但这种无意识也许正是他们力量的秘密之一。在自然界中，完全受本能支配的生物

在自然界中，完全受本能支配的人完成的行为，其惊人的复杂性令我们震惊。理性是人类最近才有的属性，而且仍然太不完善，无法向我们揭示无意识的规律，更无法取代它的位置。在我们所有的行为中，无意识所扮演的角色是巨大的，而理性所扮演的角色则非常小。无意识的行为就像一种仍然未知的力量