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us here. Nor need we accept the view that the standard of feeling and reason of the crowd is always lower than that of its individuals; there is some evidence to indicate that it may sometimes be higher – at any rate, so far as feelings are concerned. Much will probably depend upon the character and motive of the suggestion, and something on the circumstances of the recipient crowd.

For purposes of the present study, however, the hypothesis of reversion to a savage type of nature is distinctly profitable. The war-spirit, as displayed in the non-combatant mass-mind, is composed of just those qualities which differentiate savage from civilized man.

One of the most universal characteristics of the savage mind is credulity. Since credulity, or willingness to believe upon no evidence or insufficient evidence, belongs to all untrained minds, it may be thought that the majority of people, even in a so-called civilized nation, may or must remain credulous. But there are degrees of credulity. The average man or woman in modern England has a mind highly trained in reasoning, as compared with most savage peoples, and there is a minority of educated persons expert in following trains of thought and weighing evidence.