The Witchcraft in New England. Calef Robert

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СКАЧАТЬ of the former remarks, that, "as President of Harvard College, by whose printed composures both Latin and English, and by whose Agency in the Courts of three Monarchs for his afflicted Country, have rendered him universally known."

      His Mother was Maria, Daughter of Mr. John Cotton of Boston, a Name as intimately associated with the History of New England as any other. And judging from the Portraits of the Grandsire and Grandson, there was a very strong Resemblance of the one to the other.

      Mr. Mather began to preach in 1680, and his first Sermon was delivered in Dorchester, on the 22d of August of that Year. In the following February he was invited to become an Assistant to his Father in the North Church in Boston, which Invitation he accepted. About two Years later he was unanimously chosen Pastor by the same Church, but was not ordained until May, 1684; his Ordination probably being deferred on Account of his Youth; being at the Time of his Ordination but twenty-one Years and three Months old. On that Occasion he received the Right Hand of Fellowship from the venerable Mr. John Eliot, of Roxbury.

      At an early Age he began to keep a Diary, and from the Passages we have from it we are convinced that its Entries were dictated by an honest Mind, and that Duplicity and evil Intentions could never find an abiding Place therein; that his sole Aim was Goodness, and a strong Desire to lead a life of Purity, is manifest throughout.

       Mr. Mather commenced Author at the Age of 23, and continued his Publications to the Year of his Decease; extending over a Period of about forty-two Years. In that Time he is said by his Biographer to have issued 383 Books; thus averaging about nine each Year. But many of his Books would in these Days be called Pamphlets, as they consisted of only a few Pages—a very few indeed containing Pages sufficient to give them the Character of a Book. A List of these 383 Works is given in his Life by his Son, but it is known to be incomplete. The List is very deficient in Respect to the Titles of the Works, also, insomuch that their Contents cannot be determined from them.

There are several Biographies of Dr. Cotton Mather, all drawn mainly from that by his Son, Dr. Samuel Mather. An Abridgment of this was published in England in 1744, in a small 12mo, by David Jennings. Mr. Jennings was instigated to undertake the Abridgment by Dr. Isaac Watts; the latter having consulted with Mr. Mather previously, and obtained his Consent to let his Work appear in an Abridgment. In giving his Consent for the abridged Edition, he thus apologizes for the original Undertaking: "The Life of my Father, as you have it in your Hands, was a youthful Attempt;[26] though I now plainly discern my Defects in it, and am sorry to see such a Number of them, yet I can look on it with some Comfort; partly from a Consciousness of my honest Meaning in it, and partly because I find several worthy Persons approve of many Things in it, and have done me the Honour of expressing themselves favourable about it."

      The Mode of writing Biography has very much changed since the Life of Dr. Mather was first written. Those written previous to, and at that Period, at least many of them, might be reduced in Bulk from five to seven-eighths, without omitting anything of Value. This Remark is applicable to other Performances of that Time, and to some in these as well.

      It may be justly said of Cotton Mather, that he was one of the most remarkable Men of the Age in which he lived; not only remarkable on one, but on many Accounts; and for none, perhaps, more than for his wonderful Precociousness, or the early Intuitiveness of his Mind. His Memory was likewise very extraordinary. The Acquirement of Knowledge seems to have been with him accomplished almost without Effort; and his Writings show that they were generally drawn from the Storehouse of his Mind, where, from Reading and Observation, they had been from Time to Time deposited. Authors who write from this Source alone are generally diffuse, and wanting in those very essential and minute Particulars, which in these Days constitute so important a Part of every Man's Writings. His Style is very peculiar; and no One who is acquainted with the Writings of "famous Thomas Fuller," can hardly doubt that Cotton Mather attempted to make that Writer's Composition a Model for his own. Still he falls considerably short of Fuller in his Attempts at witty Conceits; in them the latter is always happy, while the former often fails.

      His Ability for acquiring Languages has probably been surpassed by but very few, and he is said to have been Master of more Languages than any other Person in New England in his Time. Those, especially the Latin, it must be confessed, he made a most unreasonable Use of, bringing in Passages from them at all Times, as though every Body understood them, as well as himself.

      So far as we now remember, Dr. Douglass seems to have been the Author of the Fashion or Practice, so much of late Years in Vogue, of reviling Cotton Mather. It has been carried to such an Extent in some Quarters, that any One who presumes to mention his Name, does it at the Peril of coming in for a Share of Obloquy and Abuse himself. Some not only charge him with committing all Sorts of Errors and Blunders, but they bring against him the more serious Charge of misrepresenting Matters of Fact. Now it would be well for those who bring those Charges to scrutinize their own Works. It may be, if they cannot see anything pedantic, puerile or false in them themselves, others may come in Contact with Errors even worse than those of Stupidity.

      It is not to be denied that the Mind of Dr. Mather was singularly constituted; and whoever shall undertake an Analysis of it will find a more difficult Task, we apprehend, than those have found who content themselves with nothing further than vituperative Denunciations upon its Productions. We owe a vast Deal to Cotton Mather; especially for his historical and biographical Works. Were these alone to be struck out of Existence it would make a Void in these Departments of our Literature, that would probably confound any who affect to look upon them with Contempt. Even Dr. Douglass, although he has somewhere asserted, that, to point out all the Errors in the Magnalia, would be to copy the whole Book, is nevertheless, much indebted to him for Facts in many Parts of the very Work in which he has made that Statement; hence it would be very bad Logic that would not charge Dr. Douglass with copying Errors into his Work, knowing them to be Errors. It would be very easy for us to point to some Writers of our own Time equally obnoxious to the same plain Kind of Argument. And a late Writer of very good Standing has, with great apparent Deliberation said, that, "it is impossible to deny, that the Reputation of Cotton Mather has declined of late Years." This, of course, was his Belief; but it strikes us as very singular, that that same Author, should, at the same Time, make the largest Book on the Life of a Man, in such a State of Decline, that had hitherto appeared! But we are under no Concern for the Reputation of Cotton Mather, even in the Hands of his Enemies, and we have no Intention of setting up a special Defence of him or his Writings. We are willing the latter should pass for exactly what they are worth. All we design to do is to caution those a little who need Caution, and save them, if we may, from having the Windows in their own Houses broken, by the very Missiles they themselves have thrown.

      But so far from the Reputation of Dr. Mather being in a Decline, his Writings have never been so much sought after as at the present Time! So much so that even Reprints of such of them as have been made are at once taken up, and at high Prices. Twenty Years ago, the Magnalia did not command above eight or ten Dollars, while Copies are at present rarely to be had for five Times their former Price. Reference is had to the original Edition, of course. This can hardly be taken as an Indication of a declining Reputation. The Style in all his Works, though peculiar to himself, is nevertheless attractive, and never tedious, although often upon tedious Subjects. In Point of Scholarship, he was not excelled by any in the Country, and would not suffer by a Comparison with the best of his Time in England.

       The Charge of excessive Credulity has been brought against Dr. Mather, as though that Trait of Character were peculiar to him alone. There does not appear to be any Justice in singling him out as responsible for all the Credulity in the Country. That he was credulous no One will deny, nor will it be denied that he was surrounded by a credulous Community, the great Majority of which were equally credulous, and he was made to speak for them. Hence he has become conspicuous while others are nearly or quite forgotten. All Men are credulous in some Way and upon certain Things. Belief and Credulity are much the same. The Degree of Evidence СКАЧАТЬ