“Let us not, in the pride of our superior knowledge, turn with contempt from the follies of our predecessors. The study of errors into which great minds have fallen in the pursuit of truth can never be uninstructive... Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one... Truth, when discovered, comes upon most of us like an intruder, and meets the intruder's welcome... Nations, like individuals, cannot become desperate gamblers with impunity. Punishment is sure to overtake them sooner or later.”
Charles MacKay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds, 1841
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