1792年的今天（9月2日），大革命中的法国巴黎城里忽然谣言四起，说监狱里的政治犯正计划集体暴动。当时，普鲁士和奥地利军队已兵临巴黎城下，人心惶惶。在内忧外患的情势压迫之下，这个谣言的蛊惑力更胜过了平日。当晚，大批普通民众冲进巴黎的各个监狱开始屠杀狱中的犯人。屠杀一直持续到了9月6日，一千多人被虐杀（Between
1,176 and 1,614 people were killed）。
史称九月大屠杀、巴黎九月惨案（The September Massacres）。
Fear escalates to panic; panic begets paranoia; paranoia ferments destruction, including self destruction.
大革命的巴黎陷入无法无天的集体暴力犯罪，巴黎民众表现出的普通人的残暴程度令人震惊。而这种残暴的导火索居然只是一个谣言，这种残暴的可怕之处在于参与人数的众多，一切只需要一个perceived threat…
总结巴黎九月大屠杀的诱因，主要有四点：
外敌入侵 the revolutionaries were facing external threats from the Prussian and Austrian armies, which were advancing towards Paris
谣言惑众 there
was a prevailing belief that the imprisoned counter-revolutionaries and
political prisoners held in Parisian jails were collaborating with the
invading forces.
派系斗争 the revolutionary government was grappling with internal divisions and power struggles
经济恶化 the deteriorating economic conditions and social unrest in France added to the general sense of unease.
九月大屠杀是法国大革命历史上的至暗时刻之一，它警醒后人，在动乱时期，不受控制的暴力的危险和政治稳定的脆弱性。
The
events also highlighted the deep divisions within French society and
the willingness of people to resort to extreme measures in the face of
perceived threats.
法国作家古斯塔夫·勒庞在《乌合之众》（The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, by Gustave Le Bon）一书中写道：
"The
masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with
illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their
illusions is always their victim."
“In a crowd every sentiment
and act is contagious, and contagious to such a degree that an
individual readily sacrifices his personal interest to the collective
interest.”
在撕裂的社会中，当危险袭来时，没人能守住理性。
Reference
https://www.163.com/dy/article/GDA5U35K055220TB.html
The French Revolution: From its Origins to 1793, by Georges Lefebvre
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