Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions — Volume 1 by Charles Mackay is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. Read this book online for free on HackerNoon!

Ladies of gentle birth and manners caught the contagion of murder, until poisoning, under their auspices, became quite fashionable.

The first pilgrims to the Holy Land brought back to Europe thousands of apocryphal relics, in the purchase of which they had expended all their store.

In France, also, the beard fell into disrepute after the death of Henry IV, from the mere reason that his successor was too young to have one.

"———-(Death's factor sure), who brought
Dire swords into this peaceful world."

The reasons that thus lead mankind to believe the marvellously false, and to disbelieve the marvellously true, may be easily gathered.

The weeping philosopher too often impairs his eyesight by his woe, and becomes unable from his tears to see the remedies for the evils which he deplores.

Pending the criminal prosecution against himself, Mr. Clifford brought an action for false imprisonment against Brandon.

The warmth of the pontiff communicated itself to the crowd, and the enthusiasm of the people broke out several times ere he concluded his address.

Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions — Volume II by Charles Mackay is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. Read this book online for free on HackerNoon!

In the twenty-first year of Henry VIII. an act was passed, rendering it high-treason: those found guilty of it, were to be boiled to death.

Unhappily, however, for the parish clerk, the ghost was induced to make some promises which were the means of utterly destroying its reputation.

Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions — Volume III by Charles Mackay is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. Read this book online for free on HackerNoon!

The study of the errors into which great minds have fallen in the pursuit of truth can never be uninstructive.

The genius of the place defend me!"—Ben Jonson's Masqu

The history of the delusion appears, in a manner, lost from this time till the eighth century, when it appeared amongst the Arabians.

This alchymist has left a more distinguished reputation.

An undue opinion of our own importance in the scale of creation is at the bottom of all our unwarrantable notions in this respect.

Paracelsus boasted of being able to transplant diseases from the human frame into the earth, by means of the magnet.