(^170) TH E M IN D O F TH E B UY E R
a W orl d Wa r. I t oc c urs when th e a stute
eva ngelist feel s i t p rop e r to urge hi s h eare rs
to hi t th e saw du st trail a n d wh e n th e se duce r
feel s th a t h e may, wi th o ut fea r of reb uff, p ress
hi s Vic tim t o t ak e th e firs t drink. No kin d of
aff ai rs app e ars too sa c re d an d n o kind to o p ro
fa ne to b e exemp te d from t h e “ p sych olo gical
m om ent. ” A s evi dence of th e apt ness of th e
t erm to c over a mul ti tude o f si tua tio n s w e fin d
i t applie d to affai rs i n which the re i s no p sychi
c al fa ct or wh at eve r, such a s a rain so tim e d
a s to sa ve a co rn c rop o r to th e e rup tion of a
geyse r.
F rom th e se i nsta nces w e see tha t th e te rm
i s a ve ry useful on e, pl aying a l arge p ar t i n
th e sp eech a nd th o ught of th e day. T rue, it
smacks s om ewh a t o f esoteri cism , bu t such co n
n ota tion i s belie d by t h e fac t th a t i t i s em
pl oye d with equal glibnes s by th e sava nt a nd
th e m an o f th e st reet. Sh akesp eare refe rred
to i t i n the well- known line s
The re is a tide in the a ffairs o f men,
Which taken at the flood, leads o n to fortune.
Na poleo n pointe d o u t i t s imp ort anc e i n
d eci ding th e fa t e of battl es
In all battles, a moment occurs when the bravest troo ps
feel inclined to run. That terror proceeds from a want
o f confidence in thei r o wn c ourage and it onl y requires a
nextflipdebug5
(nextflipdebug5)
#1