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A political emergency brings out the corn-pone opinion in fine force in its two chief varieties—the pocketbook variety, which has its origin in self-interest, and the bigger variety, the sentimental variety—the one which can't bear to be outside the pale; can't bearto be in disfavor; can't endure the averted face and the cold shoulder; wants to stand well with his friends, wants to be smiled upon, wants to be welcome, wants to hear the precious words, "He's on the right track!" Uttered, perhaps by an ass, but still an ass of high degree, an ass whose approval is gold and diamonds to a smaller ass, and confers glory and honor and happiness, and membership in the herd. For these gauds many a man will dump his life-long principles into the street, and his conscience along with them. We have seen it happen. In some millions of instances.
政治上的緊急情況會充分顯示出從眾觀點(diǎn)的兩種主要變化類型——看重經(jīng)濟(jì)利益的一類，它來源于利己之心；更多一部分人是感情用事的一類——這一類人無法忍受不被接受；無法忍受失寵，無法忍受別人的忽視和怠慢；想博得朋友的好感；想讓人笑臉相迎，想受人歡迎，想聽到中聽的贊揚(yáng)之語：“他干得多么正確！”說這話的可能是傻瓜，但那卻是個(gè)地位高的傻瓜，一個(gè)傻瓜的贊同對于一個(gè)更傻的傻瓜來說就是黃金與鉆石，就像是授予了榮耀、名譽(yù)和幸福以及成為那一群體成員之一的資格。為了這些俗不可耐的玩意兒，許多人會把自己一生信守的原則拋到九霄云外，連同他們的良心。我們已經(jīng)看到過這樣的事情，例子不勝枚舉。
