2419. CONCERNING THE SPEECH OF SPIRITS. I long wondered how it happened that now this, now that spirit spoke, at various distances. One took it up where another ended, and sometimes in the midst of the discourse, and so, variously. The reason was given me to know: those spoke who were most affected during the discourse by the ideas which belonged to the discourse; consequently it passed to those who were more affected than others, for when anyone's affection is excited, then he is excited. Besides which, they are also excited to speak in another manner, to wit, by spirits who excited them from ideas determined upon them, so that they should speak either with them, or instead of them, or for the sake of fraud, so as to contrive another person to substitute. - 1748, June 27.