The power of the soul of crowds

Upheavals analogous to those I have just cited are only possible
when it is the soul of the masses that brings them about. The
most absolute despots could not cause them. When historians
tell us that the massacre of Saint Bartholomew was the work of
a king, they show themselves as ignorant of the psychology of
crowds as of that of sovereigns. Manifestations of this order can
only proceed from the soul of crowds. The most absolute power
of the most despotic monarch can scarcely do more than hasten
or retard the moment of their apparition. The massacre of Saint
Bartholomew or the religious wars were no more the work of
kings than the Reign of Terror was the work of Robespierre,
Danton, or Saint Just. At the bottom of such events is always to
be found the working of the soul of the masses and never the
power of potentates.

I like his style. "If historians say that the massacre of Saint Bartholomew was the work of a king, they show themselves as ignorant of the psychology etc" = If you don't agree with my theory, that means you are ignorant.

It's hillarious how flagrant he is. So overbearing like a fiendish husband who threatens his wife that he will haunt her down and sever her legs if she ever leaves him.