MATHER
875
MATHER
great success, though often in peril from mobs stirred up by the Establishment. Sometimes he was beaten near- ly to death, and often stoned, but grace triumphed, and so much the more grew the word of God and multiplied. In 1757 he experienced the blessing of " the great sal- vation," or perfect love, and from that time labored with increased unction and usefulness. He was persecuted by some of his brethren on this account, but Mr. Wes- ley defended him and held him up. He travelled on nearly all the circuits of England, and, during forty- three years, was present at thirty -nine Conferences. Most of the time he -vvas in prominent relations in the Church, and active in all its interests. He was the principal member of Mr. Wesley's select committee, and his clear, strong sense and judgment were of great weight in all things. " His disinterestedness was shown in the fact that, though ordained by Wesley as a super- intendent or bishop, and an advocate of the claim of the people for the sacraments, he made no attempt to secure any defence for his peculiar office, but even opposed the immediate adoption of Coke's episcopal scheme, as pro- posed at the Litchfield meeting" (Stevens). He died at London, Aug. 22, 1800 ('?).— Jackson, Early Methodist Preachers, i, 369; Stevens, Uist. of Methodism, ii, 142; iii, 27, 40, 1 55 sq.
Mather, Cotton, a very celebrated American di- vine of colonial days, the most noted of the JMather fam- ily, the grandson of Kichard Mather and son of Increase, is one of the trio spoken of in the old doggerel tomb- stone inscription :
"Under this stone lies Richard Mather, Wlio liad a son greater than his father, And eke a grandson greater than either."
Cotton blather was born at Boston Feb. 12, 1662-(i3. His early education be received under the eye of his fa- ther, and as a lad of twelve he entered at Harvard. At this time he is spoken of as a line classical scholar. Four years afterwards, when he grailuated. Dr. Oakes, the president of the college, addressed him in a Latin speech, lauding in glowing terms his past contluct and attain- ments, and predicting a glorious future. But it was not in worldly knowledge only that lie was so advanced a student. The descendant of a line of ministers, he seemed to be himself, by his ajjtncss in learning and early seriousness, specially marked out for the minis- try. When only in his fourteenth year. Cotton Mather's mind had begun to be greatly exercised with religious thoughts. He at this time laid down a system of rigid fasts, which he continued to practice monthly or week- ly, and sometimes oftener through the rest of his life, of strict and regular self-examination, and of prolonged times of prayer, to which he afterwards added frequent nightl}' vigils. It is necessary to mention these things in order to understand some points in his character and conduct in future years. For awhile he was diverted from his purpose of becoming a minister by a growing impediment in his speech, and he began to study medi- cine. But being shown how by a " dilated deliberation'' of speech he might avoid stammering, he returned to his theological studies, and commenced preaching when scarcely eighteen years old. In 1C80 he received a unanimous call from his father's congregation, then the largest in Boston, to become assistant pastor, and in January, 1().S2, was settled as a colleague of his father. His labors in the ministry were characterized by great zeal and earnestness, and he soon came to be considered a prodigy of learning and ability. He was not only a most attentive pastor, but a superior preacher, and withal found time for a large amount of literary labors: he published three hundred and eighty-two distinct works, most of them of course small, consisting, besides his sermons, of devotional works, and other contributions to practical religion. In addition to all these labors he was engaged in the accumulation of material for greater works. Nor did he any more than his father shrink from the political duties which the ministerial office had been supposed to cast upon those who held it. ''New
England," he wrote, "being a countrj' whose interests are remarkably inwrapped in ecclesiastical circumstances, ministers ought to concern themselves in politics." When, therefore, his father was sent to England to seek relief from the arbitrary proceedings of Charles II and James II, Cotton IMather regarded himself as the nat- ural leader of the citizens, and on their seizing and im- prisoning the obnoxious governor, he drew up their dec- laration justifying that extreme measure.
The freedom of thought in politics, however, made its inroads into the Church also, and fearing a falling away from the purity of the old ftiith, and fancying that he saw the evil one busy in turning away the hearts of the people, he was led to a life of asceticism, which in- volved him in religious controversies.
The daughter of one Goodwin, a respectable mechanic of Boston, accused a laundress of having stolen some of the family linen. The mother of the suspected person, an Irish emigrant, expostulated in no very gentle terms against such a charge, and, as was averred, not content with abuse, cast a spell over the accuser. The younger children soon began to suffer similarly, and the poor Irishwoman was denounced as a witch. Cotton Mather, fearing that the excesses of superstition would have a stUI more derogatory effect on the religious life of the col- onists, determined to investigate this case of witchcraft. He took the eldest girl, then about sixteen years old, into his house, and her vagaries soon left on his mind no doubt that she was really under the influence of an evil spirit. The poor Irishwoman was tried, condemned, and executed ; and ilather printed a relation of the cir- cumstances, and an account of such influences in other places. The book, which was published with the rec- ommendation of all the ministers of Boston and Charles- town, was entitled MemoraUe F?-ovidences relating to Witchcraft and Possessions, with Discoveries and Ap- pendix (Lond. and Bost. 1689, 8vo ; 2d edit. 1691, 12mo ; Edinb. 1097, 12mo). Both in the colony and in Eng- land the book ^vas read by everybody. In the old coun- try it had the honor to be introduced by the eminent divine. Dr. Kichard Baxter, who wrote a preface for the work, and argued that it was "sufficient to convince all but the most obdurate Sadducees." The question here arises whether or not Cotton Mather was himself a be- liever in witchcraft, and whether or not he wrote the book simply to explode the " delusion" which was fast making converts, especially in and about Massachusetts. Even to our day this question lias not been satisfactorilj' solved.