Evil spirits long for nothing more eagerly than to completely control an earthly human, both the inward regions and most of all the body. Thereby they seem to themselves to return to the life of the body, for they then absolutely imagine they have returned. But what the difference is when it happens not so evidently as with me, and when it happens with someone else who is not such as I am, I do not yet know. In any case, when they come into a person in such a way that they know for sure they are there and thus control the person's body and members, then this is called obsessing the person. For no spirit is given the ability to control the body as they do with me unless the person had been obsessed-for there are some assigned to that function who do not at all know that they control the body, because only their urge comes into working there, but with the obsessed not only the urge, but also the act [of the obsessing spirit] is present. So there are spirits not assigned to that function who, when they take possession of a body in this way, it is obsession, while with those who are assigned to it, it is not obsession, for then everything is done in an orderly way, and the person does not know this. With the obsessed it is not done in an orderly way, but contrary to order, consequently by evil spirits. But it is amazing that I have been obsessed, and yet it did me no harm whatever. I was able to exercise my rational mind just as if they were not present. 1748, 20 July.