"It were easie to confute these weak pretences to Chance and Incident, and to show the necessity of an intelligent Being; but that is not my work: I am not upon the Reality of such an intelligent Being, but the Reality of its ordinary and extraordinary actings, the Agents it employs, and the manner of their executing the Commissions they receive; which 'tis evident they faithfully perform, and effectually too; sometimes by one method, sometimes by another, and particularly by this of Apparition, as well to the Eyes of the Soul, as to the Eye of the Body, sleeping or waking 'tis the same."
An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions
2 entries in ESTC (1727, 1728). For a publication history, see Rodney Baine's 1962 essay, "Daniel Defoe and 'The History and Reality of Apparitions.'" First edition, published by J. Roberts, appeared anonymously on March 18, 1727. Second issues were sold the same year by A. Millar. The 1735 edition, reissued in 1738 and 1740.<br>
<br>
Text from <u>An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions: Being an Account of What They are, and What They are Not; Whence They Come, and Whence They Come Not.</u> (London: Printed: and sold by J. Roberts, 1727). &lt;<a href="http://name.umdl.umich.edu/004843878.0001.000">Link to ECCO-TCP</a>&gt;