“Every powerful emotion has its own myth-making tendency. When the emotion is peculiar to an individual, he is considered more or less mad if he gives credence to such myths as he has invented. But when an emotion is collective, as in war or disease, there are few to correct the myths that naturally arise. Consequently in all times of great collective excitement unfounded rumors obtain wide credence. This myth-making faculty is often allied with cruelty. Such myths give an excuse for the infliction of torture, and the unfounded belief in them is evidence of the unconscious desire to find some victim to persecute.“
— Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays (1950), Ch. XII: An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish, p. 81
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