246 WARFARE IN THE HUMAN BODY 



must be turned towards the common ends for which they 

 have been trained. Our individuality depends largely on 

 the points in which we are, or believe ourselves to be, 

 different from other men. But when working together for 

 common objects we cannot insist upon our differences. 

 If we do insist upon them nothing can be done. I have seen 

 this happen dozens of times in badly organized committees. 

 Agreement on common ends, touched with mass emotion and 

 mass feeling, is the true basis of organization. 



I do not suppose that many of you have made a study 



of what is called the psychology of crowds. Many years 



ago I began to work on the subject, and to my great 



annoyance a very able Frenchman, Gustave Le Bon, 



published a book called Psychologie des Foules. My only 



consolation is that he probably did it better than I should 



have done. It is brilliant and suggestive. If you pursue 



studies of this order you will find that there is such a thing 



as natural partial organization of individuals without 



preparation and without a real nervous system. When 



in crowds, you have sometimes found yourselves carried 



away without knowing the reason. You have perhaps 



shouted in a manner totally at variance with your common 



habits, you may have been ready to assault people or to 



break the law in the most enthusiastic way. I remember 



many years ago, when I was ill and thought exercise would 



do me good, going out for a long walk on one of the days 



of the Epsom Spring Meeting. It will perhaps be hard 



for me to convince you that I came out on Epsom Downs 



without knowing where I was. When I found out and 



saw the big crowd in the distance I walked towards it. 



I was gloomy and dyspeptic. I never cared much for 



racing ; I had never attended a big race meeting in my 



life. But I said to myself that as I was there I might 



