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Crowds and Power

Book by Elias Canetti · 12 quotes · Power, Children, Command

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Crowds and Power Quotes

“Every command consists of momentum and sting. The momentum forces the recipient to act, and to act in accordance with the content of the command; the sting remains behind in him. When a command functions normally and as one expects, there is nothing to be seen of the sting; it is hidden and unsuspected and may only reveal its existence by some faint, scarcely perceptible recalcitrance before the command obeyed.”

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“A human being who falls down reminds us of an animal we might have hunted and brought down ourselves. Every sudden fall which arouses laughter does so because it suggests helplessness and reminds us that the fallen can, if we want, be treated as prey. If we went further and actually ate it, we would not laugh. We laugh instead of eating it. Laughter is our physical reaction to the escape of potential food.”

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“Те, що війна може тривати безкінечно довго, що іноді вона триває навіть тоді, коли її давно програно, пов'язано із щонайглибшою потребою маси зберігати свій збуджений стан, не розпадатись, залишатися, власне, масою. Це почуття іноді таке глибоке, що люди свідомо воліють піти разом на смерть, тільки лиш не визнати поразки й тим самим не пережити розпаду власної маси.”

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“People like imagining a coin as an individual. The hand closes round it, feeling its planes and edges as a whole. A tenderness for the coin which can do so much for them is universal amongst men, and part of its 'character'. In one respect the coin is superior to a living creature. Being made of metal, its hardness secures 'eternal' existence for it; except by fire, it can scarcely be destroyed at all. A coin does not attain its size through growth; it issues ready-made from the mint and should remain as it then is; it should never change.”

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