Age Quote by Gustave Le Bon
“The images evoked by words being independent of their sense, they vary from age to age and from people to people, the formulas remaining identical. Certain transitory images are attached to certain words: the word is merely as it were the button of an electric bell that calls them up.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, Gustave Le Bon, 1895
Words trigger personal images that differ across ages and cultures, while the underlying linguistic formulas stay constant.
In simple terms: Words evoke varied mental pictures for different people.
Key Takeaway
Consider how language shapes perception uniquely.
Themes
language
perception
culture
Mood
analytical
thought‑provoking
Type
literary
psychological
When to use this quote
- advertising
- education
- cross‑cultural communication
- literary analysis
- psychology research
Key Concepts
semiotics
cognitive psychology
semantic relativity
Questions to Reflect On
- What images do you associate with common words?
- How can we bridge differing mental pictures?
A Different Perspective
Images may be misinterpreted, leading to misunderstanding.
![“To the Jacobins of this epoch [the French Revolution], as well as to those of our times, this popular entity constitutes a superior personality possessing attributes peculiar to the gods of never having to answer for their actions and never making a mistake. Their wishes must be humbly acceded to…” quote by Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/eb6/gustave-le-bon-10163_character_to-the-jacobins-of-this-epoch-the-french_220492.jpg)
