ii6 "PSYCHOLOGY OF CROWDS" 

 because his subconscious mind responds to 

 the emergency before his reasoning faculty has 

 time to assert itself, before he has time to 

 think. When the latter is reinstated the panic- 

 condition subsides; but animals, having no 

 reasoning mind to correct the initial impulse, 

 run amok until exhausted. 



If, amongst the crowd of human beings, 

 there is one who has not been seized by the 

 general panic, it is that he has himself well 

 under control. As the saying goes, the man 

 " kept his head," which means that his will- 

 power was strong enough to restrain his ego 

 from merging or blending with the panic- 

 stricken. 



The " psychology of crowds " is a different 

 thing from the aggregate psychology of all the 

 individuals of which they are composed. 



