It is not, then, the facts in themselves that strike the popular imagination, but the way in which they take place and are brought under notice. It is necessary that by their condensation, if I may thus express myself,they should produce a startling image which fills and besets the mind. To know the art of impressing the imagination of crowds is to know at the same time the art of governing them.
CHAPTER 4 A RELIGIOUS SHAPE ASSUMED BY ALL THE CONVICTIONS OF CROWDS