USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the Second Church, or Old North, in Boston : to which is added a History of the New Brick Church > Part 6
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sharp and flat, wise and simple, saintly and ordinary. To group all these elements together, to arrange and blend them into any thing like a complete and satisfactory por- trait, would be a task that requires more penetration and skill than have ever yet been exercised upon his biography. It is a task, certainly, which I have neither the disposition, the time, nor the ability to perform.
All that I shall attempt in this brief sketch is merely to rectify the false perspective to which I have referred; to arrange the qualities of the man, so far as I have occasion to notice them, in what seems to me to be the order of nature; to change the caricature into a true picture; to remove whatever distortion is the result merely of the point of view, and not inherent in the person. There are few faces that have not some unhandsome feature, or do not look less pleasing in one aspect than in another. By mere arrangement of position, the artist can exaggerate or relieve the deformity. As well might he say that the sin- gle view in which the defect is most conspicuous is the only one true to nature, while in every other it is softened, and in some almost wholly concealed, as the biographer insist upon presenting the character he describes in the very attitude and drapery to set off a weakness, or make an eccentricity ridiculous. If men of distinguished virtues and learning and intense activity sometimes do or say a foolish thing, they must not be brought on the stage before the world in a fool's cap and feathers, as if that were a true representation of their real character, - as if in sober, actual life they acted no higher and more earnest part. Let their folly be ridiculed, but not at the expense of their
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wisdom. Let men laugh at their oddities, but not at the cost of a just respect for their virtues.
I undertake, however, no defence of Cotton Mather. I have no wish, and feel no call, to be his apologist. I would not cover a single fault in him or any man, except under the mantle of charity, which is transparent to the truth, which does not hide the weakness over which it is thrown, but only, as a sign of sanctuary, protects it from illiberal judgment. Every character, essentially useful and good, can bear its own faults, though many, and can bear to have them seen. They serve, in part, to set off its virtues. They are, to a certain extent, the shadows that give promi- nence and relief to its nobler features. At any rate, they are human, and bring us into sympathy with a man, as much as his virtues; while they show us also, that those virtues, like our own, were nurtured in the school of diffi- culty and temptation, trained in battle, and are all of them victories. And that Cotton Mather can bear his faults, if he is looked at as every man should be, is what I think can be fairly proved ; and it is all I wish to prove. Nevertheless, I must confess, that, even before I had studied Cotton Mather in his own writings and acts, separately from the coloring of modern biographers and the attitude in which historians had placed him, a suspicion had long haunted me, that his faults had been unintentionally exaggerated. There is something in the heart that warns us to be wary of wholesale censure, to look behind stereotyped terms of reproach, and not to take ignominious brands as unques- tionable proofs of guilt. If the fact of having obeyed this voice beforehand is to be regarded a prejudice that must
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needs vitiate the justice of a biographical sketch, though I must regret the penalty, I cannot deny the weakness.
The faults of Cotton Mather, as has been hinted, are conspicuous and well known, -too conspicuous, I think, in the usual regard and general representation of him. They are precisely such as are calculated to provoke dislike and excite prejudice, though, essentially, not so criminal as some which would be less impatiently judged. If, indeed, they were more positive and substantial than his virtues ; if they involved malice ; if they indicated a bad heart; if they were really the stronger and deeper marks of the man; if they were the rule of his life, and not the exception, - then justice might demand, and nature would allow, such a forward presentation of them as would not only overtop his virtues, but cast over his whole moral countenance that dark shade which is the righteous stigma of the unworthy. But it is not so. Precisely the opposite is true of him. His virtues are in nature far more prominent and striking than his faults. The latter are more accidental and occasional; the former, more constant and permanent. The one seem to have been rather temporary waverings from the real point of his life's aim, like the oscillations of the disturbed needle ; while the other evidently mark the true line of his earlier and later aspirations, principles, and efforts. With such convictions, - though admitting every fault that can justly be charged against him, and intending to bring them all into distinct notice in the proper time and order,- I would first present his character to you, as it presents itself to me, in the light of its virtues.
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In the first place, he wore no disguise. There is hardly a character in history that had so little concealment. What he felt he uttered. What he thought he said. With too much freedom, it may be considered ; imprudently, you may say; with undue heat often. No matter: he wore no disguise over his failings. Men saw and heard the worst of him, and the whole of the worst. He had no tact to conceal his faults. If he had been more cunning, he would have passed for a much better man; but whether he would have been any better, you can judge. If he had had a lit- tle more caution, he might have kept all his worst feelings, and nobody been the wiser for it; might have been a good deal more unworthy, and met a far milder judgment. With a trifle more tact, he would have saved himself much ridicule and a multitude of enemies, though he would really have been not a whit more respectable or amiable. This is something : it is a good deal. If you are sure you see the worst of a man, you can have confidence in all that appears good in him. You can pardon the more to a per- son in whom you know how much you have to pardon.
Pass next to his industry. It was immense, almost un- paralleled. You may say it was in some respects mis- directed; that much of it was wasted upon acquirements which were valueless, and learning that was but trash. Be it so. But he worked, -worked as hard and as much as any man that ever lived. He seized and used every minute with wonderful method and energy. And he did this conscientiously. He was industrious from principle. He thought that the learning he amassed and the attain- ments after which he toiled were desirable and important ;
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and he sincerely intended to turn them to account, to enrich his sermons, and for the furtherance of the gospel. And the men of his own age thought as he did, or they would not so generally have applauded, almost envied, him as a prodigy of erudition.
But all his industry was not spent in heaping up know- ledge, and writing many books. It was employed, to an extent that seems hardly consistent with so much study, in plans and acts of usefulness.
And here another distinguished virtue comes before us, in connection with his diligence, - his earnest desire and constant purpose to do good. It seems to have been one of his earliest motives, his ruling aim from childhood, to do all the good, and every kind of good, in his power. That a deep sense of this obligation impressed and governed him in boyhood needs no better proof than the fact, that, while pursuing his own studies at home, he spent a considerable part of every day in instructing, not only his brothers and sisters, but the domestics also; while his sedulous watch- fulness of the wants of those around him, and his ingenious alacrity in rendering to them every trifling service in his power, were proverbial in the family. This purpose and habit followed him through life, and rather strengthened with his age.
One of his best books, - a book to the remarkable value of which we have the testimony of a man whose sound judgment and keen discrimination make his opinion an authority; I allude to Benjamin Franklin, who said that he attributed to that book all his usefulness and emi- nence, -the " Essays to do Good," evidently grew out of
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his own life. Its valuable maxims and principles were wrought out of his own experience, and illustrated in his own habits. In the Essays he says, " There is a scorbutic and spontaneous lassitude in the minds of men, which, while it sometimes prevents their being active in evil, is also the cause of their doing so little good." The object of the book is to counteract this propensity to indolence by suggesting motives to action, reasons for exertion, and methods of usefulness. No man can read the book with- out benefit, without being stirred to increased diligence, and supplied with hints that will be of constant service to him in his self-discipline. He seems to have looked for- ward with " a prophetic anticipation " to an age of intense activity, whose description, as he has given it in his pecu- liar style, answers very aptly to the present : " A vast variety of new ways to do good will be hit upon; paths which no fowl (of the best flight at noble designs) has yet known, and which the vulture's most piercing eye hath not seen, and where lions of the strongest resolution have not passed." He suggests, moreover, the expediency of resort- ing to the principle of association, in order to accomplish by the authority and force of numbers what individuals are unable to do. " There is reason to think that this sugges- tion, though not new, was adopted to some extent in con- sequence of his recommendation ; and thus was established the system which now operates throughout the country." *
A curious instance of his ingenuity in plans of doing good is worth noticing in this connection. He had heard
* Rev. W. B. O. Peabody : "Life of Cotton Mather."
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that in the town of Salem there was a large number of poor and bad people, who were notorious for misspending the sabbath. In order to reach them, and if possible bring them to church, he hit upon an expedient that shows as much knowledge of human nature as goodness of heart. Having wrapped up seven small parcels of money, attached to seven tracts on " Repentance," and seven also on " Keep- ing the Sabbath," he sent the packages, with an anonymous letter, to the minister of that place, desiring him to distri- bute the charity in his own name; that so, perchance, the pastor might ingratiate himself with his straying people, and, by awakening their good feelings towards himself per- sonally, draw them to public worship. A better conceived plan, acting in so many ways at the same time, and all converging to one result, could not easily be found.
There is hardly a branch of philanthropic enterprise, into which his interest and exertions did not spread. Nor did he wait for others to take the lead, or show him objects of charity, but with quick sympathy discovered the wants and sufferings of all classes of men, with ready ingenuity devised plans of relief, and with characteristic zeal carried them into operation himself, often with much expense and labor, without waiting for assistance from others. Most of the reformatory and benevolent movements which have signalized the last quarter of a century were anticipated by him. He was a strenuous advocate of Temperance, by example as well as precept. He wrote and published much on the subject, with learning and ability, and not altogether without effect in staying the alarming progress of one of the most prevalent vices of his times. He was
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deeply interested on behalf of Seamen. To the moral ex- posures and hardships of this interesting class, he frequently called the attention of others; while he spared no exertion on his own part to ameliorate and elevate their condition. Of the claims of Women, for whose sex he seems to have had a high respect, he was an earnest advocate; and to raise the standard of female character and education was one of his favorite objects. His treatment of the Slaves then held in New England, and his devotion to the tem- poral and religious improvement of the African race, are among the brightest points of his benevolent character. Perceiving that the slaves in Boston were destitute of the advantages of education, and finding that their ignorance was a bar to their religious progress, he established a school for their instruction, and bore the whole expense of it him- self, paying the teacher for her services at the close of every week. In addition to this, he had deeply at heart the Christianization of Negroes abroad as well as at home, and, besides incidental attempts to call attention to the subject, prepared a work upon it, with his best diligence, expressly for circulation in the West Indies, as well as in America. The noble stand he took for the introduction of Inoculation for the small-pox, against the powerful and universal preju- dice of the people, and even of the most eminent physi- cians,* and the enmity and obloquy it cost him, should
* With a single exception, Dr. Zabdiel Boylston. The rage of the peo- ple was so fierce against Cotton Mather that he was in danger of his life. Every possible threat was made to intimidate him; and the physicians, and many of the first men, together with the mob, assailed and reviled him. But he never faltered. A hand-grenade was actually thrown, in the night, into the chamber where he usually slept, but fortunately, as it passed
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never be forgot. Especially at the present hour should the honor of this great service be acknowledged, and all due praise be awarded to Cotton Mather, when the tardy justice of nations is at length stimulated to rear a deserved monu- ment to the name of the great benefactor to whom the world is indebted for a still better antidote to one of its worst miseries .*
Association for Christian Missions to the heathen was another of his favorite objects; though he says with much point, that, till the church is purified at home, there will be no gathering of the nations into it; and that many persons active in missionary operations " will be more intent upon propagating their own little forms, fancies, and interests, than the more weighty matters of the gospel." He proposes also Bible Societies, for the circulation of the Scriptures and other holy books, and for their translation into the various languages of the world .; And he still further advises the formation of Tradesmen's Libraries, and associations for moral and religious improvement among young men. This enumeration ¿ of the various philanthropic plans which not only excited his interest, but actually originated
through the window, had its fusee broken off. The clergymen of Boston alone took his part, and, to their honor be it said, followed his example in advocating the unpopular but invaluable innovation.
* A subscription is about being made for a monument to Dr. Jenner.
+ We are told that he made himself master of French and Spanish, so that he might write treatises in those languages ; and, in his forty-fifth year, " conquered the Iroquois Indian," in which he actually published works for the instruction of the natives.
# I might have swelled the list. I have not mentioned his attempts to organize a Peace Society ; an association for Building Churches in Destitute Places, and for the Relief of Poor Ministers ; nor the establishment by him of Charity Schools ; nor his Distribution of Books in immense numbers.
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in his own active and fruitful mind, affords abundant evi- dence no less of extraordinary genius for practical benevo- lence than of a sympathetic and generous disposition.
Nor did his benevolence become weak by diffusiveness, or expend itself in extensive efforts. No individual case of poverty or suffering within his reach escaped his notice, or failed of receiving personal care. One day in every week was set apart particularly to the consideration of the ques- tion, " What special subjects of affliction and objects of com- passion may I take under my particular care ? and what shall I do for them ?". A catalogue was then prepared of all the poor in his flock, or in the town, whom he knew, together with all the miserable, the victims of vice, and those who were out of employment. This " List of the Miserables," as he called it, was generally kept about him, and, by being occasionally referred to in his visits, afforded him oppor- tunities to introduce any particular case to the attention and sympathy of his parishioners, and thus to procure a recruit either of alms or almoners, or both, to assist him in his charities.
Of such a man it may indeed be said with truth, in the language of one who knew him well, " The ambition and character of his life was serviceableness." The tree that bears such crowded and broad-spreading branches, sprin- kled with the blossoms of kindness, and bending with the fruits of charity, cannot but be known, however rough its trunk and irregular its outline, as having its root and invi- goration in the rich soil of love .*
The emblem on Cotton Mather's signet-ring was a tree, with the motto, from Psalm i. 3, " He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of
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The utter absence of avarice was a noble distinction of Cotton Mather; and not less so the fact, that he never spared himself, when an opportunity offered, to do any thing for another's good, -that self-indulgence was totally un- known to him. Another admirable trait, which no one can deny to him, is moral courage. It manifested itself, in his boyhood, in open resistance and rebuke of whatever he esteemed unjust or immoral in his companions. It is con- spicuous, throughout his life, in his never having shrunk from uttering what he believed to be true, or doing what he thought to be right, because of the ridicule to which it would expose him, or the unpopularity it would provoke. It was displayed on several occasions of public excitement, in the stand he took to resist oppressive rulers on the one hand, or to quell the turbulence of the populace on the other. But never was it more severely tested or more honorably proved than in his efforts to introduce inocula- tion, to which I have already referred.
That he was a man of a devout spirit and a religious character has never, I believe, been questioned. The tone of his piety has been objected to, but not his piety itself. His religious exercises may not always meet with approba- tion ; but his religious affections and principles can be dis- credited only after the largest portion of the facts of his biography shall have been expunged.
water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season : his leaf also shall not wither." This was the ceremonial ring of his Doctorate of Divinity; the honor of which degree was conferred upon him by the University of Glas- gow, A.D. 1710. On the scroll was the Latin sentence, Glascua rigavit, - " Glasgow watered it." We are told that it was his habit, when looking at this ring, to pray that God would make him a very fruitful tree.
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In his relations to the Second Church, we are bound to speak of him with unqualified praise ; for slander itself, with all its boldness, has not ventured to cast a reproach upon the sincerity of his pastoral affection, or the fidelity of his ministerial service.
Another province of his life also calumny has not violated. In the domestic relations, his character shines with a mild and beautiful lustre. The mutual attachment between him and his father, in particular, cannot be contemplated without a delightful interest. Whatever the son may have been to others, to his parent he was always respectful and tender and amiable. His veneration for him was almost unbounded; his love to him through life was as warm as a boy's. His indignation took fire at a whisper against his fame; and his heart leaped with joy at every mark of re- spect that was conferred upon him. And the manifesta- tions on the father's part are no less constant and sincere. He evidently looked upon his son with admiration as well as love, and reposed in him with perfect confidence. His treatment of him through life and in death, and the terms in which he speaks of him in his last testament, are, from such a man, no slight testimonials to his worth. They were united in the closest intimacy; their studies were similar ; their profession the same; their charge one ; their earthly and their heavenly interests inseparable. Their voices alternated or blended in the worship of the church, and mingled often in private devotion. They were never happier than when together, and never more constantly and closely together than when the hour of their separation drew nigh. The son, though himself an old man, could
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not let his father go, till he had reverently gathered all the last fruits of his wisdom, and heard yet again the counsels of his love; while the father was not content to have his son long absent from his sight, and evidently felt it a com- fort to die on his bosom .*- (See APPENDIX D.)
Cotton Mather was also one of the kindest of fathers. It is the testimony of one of his sons, that he was not, like many parents of that day, of an austere carriage towards his children, " nor kept himself at an haughty distance from them, but invariably condescended to them with a gentle and proper familiarity. Thus," he adds, " he would instruct and edify, thus allure and charm us ; thus make us love his society, ever come into it with delight, and never leave it but with sorrow." The same attractions of manner and conversation seem to have characterized him in social intercourse. It is evidently a mistake to suppose, as some have done, that he was generally crabbed, morose, and irri- table, and not fitted for an agreeable companion. On the
* The paragraph in the "Last Will," to which reference was made above, is in the following terms : " Concerning my son, Cotton Mather, he has bin a great comfort to me from his childhood, having bin a very dutiful son, and a singular blessing to his father's family and flock. If I had any considerable estate, I ought to bequeath the greatest part of it to him. It has bin thot that I have bags by me, which is a great mistake. I have not twenty pounds in silver or in bills. But whatever I have, be it more or less, whether in silver or bills, I give it to him, my eldest son. Item, I give to him my pendulum-watch; item, my pendulum-clock; item, my silver tan- kard; and I bequeath to him all my manuscripts, and the one-half of my library."
The will itself, which was never recorded, was found on file, and a copy furnished to me by my friend, Dr. Shurtleff. It is an interesting document, marked by the dignity, seriousness, and kindness which belonged to the author. It has seemed to me so characteristic of the man, that I have inserted it entire in an Appendix.
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contrary, none could be more sociable and entertaining. Better authority on this point could not be desired than that of Mr. Colman, of the Brattle-street Church; who, if any one, would have been likely, during a long and some- times trying intercourse, to have had full experience of the opposite qualities, if they had been prominent and habitual. I may be pardoned, therefore, for quoting at length, from a sermon preached by that eminent divine at the Thursday Lecture, a somewhat striking passage, descriptive of the traits to which I have referred : - " His printed works will not convey to posterity, nor give to strangers, a just idea of the real worth and great learning of the man. They will, indeed, inform all that read them, of his great knowledge and singular piety, his zeal for God and holiness and truth, and his desire of the salvation of precious souls; but it was conversation, and acquaintance with him in his fami- liar and occasional discourses and private communications, that discovered the vast compass of his knowledge and the projections of his piety, more, I have sometimes thought, than all his pulpit exercises. Here he excelled ; here he shone, - being exceedingly communicative, and bringing out of his treasures things new and old without measure. Here it was seen how his wit and fancy, his invention, his quickness of thought and ready apprehension, were all con- secrated to God, as well as his heart, will, and affections ; and, out of his abundance within, his lips overflowed, dropped as the honeycomb, fed all that came near him, and were as the choice silver for richness and brightness, plea- sure and profit." The well-known warning to visitors,*
* " Be short."
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