A Relation of Apparitions of Spirits, in the Principality of Wales to which is added the remarkable account of the apparition in Sunderland, with other notable relations from England; Together With Observations About Them, And Instructions From Them Designed To Confute And To Prevent The Infidelity Of Denying The Being And Apparition of Spirits; Which Tends To Irreligion and Atheism.

[JONES, Edmund]

Edité par n.p. [Trevecca?] 1780, 1780

A propos de cet article

First edition. 8vo in 4s. 188x117mm. pp. viii, 134, [2]. Nineteenth century half calf, marbled paper covered boards, slightly bumped and rubbed. Internally a little browned but overall a very good copy of a rare book. We have traced only two at auction, eight copies on JISC Library Hub, and a further five in Worldcat. Tipped in are two manuscript documents (seven pages in total) by Jones himself. The second of these (frayed at the edges with loss of some text), headed "Edmund Jones his book" has a pencil note stating that it is the "Autograph of the author of this book - Edmund Jones" and was "removed from a very dilapidated copy of Dorrington's View of the Principles of the Lutheran Churches 1714". This note, which touches on Lutheran and Calvinist soteriology appears to have been prompted by something in Dorrington's book. The first, longer note (in the same hand) seems to have been extracted from a notebook as it is not complete but it is an interesting discourse on the figure of Gaius mentioned in Acts and two of Paul's Epistles. "Edmund Jones was a man of dual personality - fearless in preaching and in founding new churches, a zealous evangelical and a firm Calvinist, yet frightened of apparitions and terrified by bad omens". (Annie Grace Bowen-Jones, Dictionary of Welsh Biography). Born in 1702, Jones's only education was thanks to the local curate. He then spent the rest of his long life (he died in 1793) repaying this by embarking on a punishing regime of itinerant preaching together with the founding of numerous Independent chapels. He was said to be a more enthusiastic Calvinist than Calvin himself and was certainly ferocious in his opposition to the Established Church. However, he is probably best known today for this book. A Relation of Apparitions of Spirits, in the Principality of Wales has been described as "a farrago of the most astonishing superstitions, in all of which he firmly believed". It is certainly an extensive collection of tales from the spirit world but Jones's purpose was not to amaze and frighten. It was to "convince all the Saducees and Atheistical men of the age of the being of Spirits, and of their appearance in the world" for, in order to believe in the truth of the Resurrection one must believe in spirits "for why should the body be raised if there is no Spirit of life to dwell in it?". A mixture, then, of the highly orthodox born out of the wildly unorthodox.

N° de réf. du vendeur 4461

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: A Relation of Apparitions of Spirits, in the Principality of Wales to which is added the remarkable account of the apparition in Sunderland, with other notable relations from England; Together With Observations About Them, And Instructions From Them Designed To Confute And To Prevent The Infidelity Of Denying The Being And Apparition of Spirits; Which Tends To Irreligion and Atheism.
• Éditeur: n.p. [Trevecca?] 1780
• Date de parution: 1780