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 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
THE SECOND CHURCH. . 97
essentially generous and forgiving : - " This day, having humbled myself, and judged myself before the Lord, for my many offences, the Spirit of the Most High brought me to a marvellous temper, which was to me like the very suburbs of heaven, through the joy he gave me that my sins were forgiven through the pardoning mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Immediately, I called to mind the names of all the persons whom I remembered to have reproached and injured me, and most heartily begged the God of hea- ven on their behalf, one by one, that they might be blessed with all the blessings of goodness."
Among the faults which have been attributed to Cotton Mather, are bigotry and intolerance. To the full extent which justice warrants, let their stain rest upon his charac- ter, -but no further. That he was a strict Calvinist and a zealous Congregationalist; that he maintained the theo- logical doctrines which he believed, and the ecclesiastical order he loved, with vigor and warmth; that in the heat of polemics he was sometimes sharp and uncivil; that in attacking errors which he deemed baneful, or repelling unjust accusations against his father or himself, he was at times sarcastic, and even vituperative, - are facts which the most friendly biographer would not attempt to deny. And yet in principle, and generally in feeling, however incompatible the two statements may seem, he was more liberal and tolerant in regard to religious opinions and sects than the majority of divines of his own day and school. It would be difficult to find in any contemporary writings such repeated and strong avowals of dislike to bigotry, and hatred of persecution for conscience' sake, or such just
13
98
HISTORY OF
and enlarged sentiments with regard to toleration, as his own.
" I adhere," he says, "to the Sacred Scriptures as the sufficient rule for belief and worship and manners among the people of God; and I would maintain a brotherly fellowship with all good men, in the things wherein I apprehend them to follow these divine directions." I quote from the " Manductio ad Ministerium," a work written for the direction of students for the ministry, containing many valuable counsels, and displaying the author's usual learn- ing and ability. In the same book, he says, " Let the table of the Lord have no rails about it, that shall hinder a godly Independent, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Antipædobaptist, or Lutheran, from sitting down together there. Corinthian brass would not be so bright a composition as the people of God .in such a coalition, feasting together on his holy mountain. Insist upon it, that no terms shall be imposed but such necessary things as Heaven will require of all ; that all who fear God and work righteousness, all whom Christ receives to the kingdom of God, shall be received and acknowledged by Christians as brethren." ""Tis even the first-born of my wishes," he says to the young minister, " that you may be one of those angels that shall fly through the midst of heaven with the everlasting gospel, to preach it unto them who dwell upon the earth, and move all the people of God, though of different persuasions in lesser points, to embrace one another upon the generous maxims of it, and keep lesser points in a due subordination unto the superior maxims, and manage their differences upon these lesser points with another spirit than that which
99
THE SECOND CHURCH.
disputers of this world, in the several sects of Christians, keep commonly cutting one another withal." And to move and encourage those to whom he writes to this liberal course, he utters a grand prophecy in this strong para- graph : " There are concurring with you hundreds of thou- sands of generous minds, in which this feeling now lies shut up as an aurum fulminans ; but it will break forth more and more as the day approaches, and as men improve in manly religion, in explosions that will carry all before it; and the mean, little, narrow souls that know no religion but that of a party and of their secular interests, will become deserted objects, for the pity or disdain of those who have taken the way that is above them." These expressions cer- tainly do honor to his liberality. The practice of his own church, with regard to Christian intercourse, was, by his advice, conformable to these enlarged principles; and no one who reads the exulting language in which he expresses his delight at the absence of a sectarian spirit in the churches of Boston can for a moment doubt his sincerity : " In this capital city of Boston, there are ten assemblies of Christians of different persuasions, who live so lovingly and peaceably together, doing all the offices of friendship for one another in so neighborly a manner, as may give a sensible rebuke to all the bigots of uniformity, and show them how con- sistent a variety of rites in religion may be with the tran- quillity of human society ; and may demonstrate to the world that persecution for conscientious dissent in religion is an abomination of desolation, a thing whereof all wise and just men will say, ' Cursed be its anger !'"
Even towards the Quakers, whom he seems to have
100
HISTORY OF
particularly disliked, he declares his desire that " all imagi- nable civility should be extended, and that the civil magis- trate should not inflict the damage of a farthing for their consciences." It is true that he himself did not, in his own treatment of them, act up to his principles. He dealt with them very severely in his writings ; for he utterly abomi- nated their doctrines, and dreaded the tendency of them, as alike dangerous to the church and the state. He proba- bly considered it perfectly fair, as well as a duty, to oppose them with all his might, and hold their opinions and prac- tices up to ridicule in his books, so long as he left them unharmed in person ; and doubtless made in his own mind a broader distinction than would now be considered justi- fiable between verbal and legal persecution. And it ought to be said further, that he grounds his severity against the Quakers as much, or more, upon specimens of their political contumely and obstinacy, and the immoralities of some of their number, which he traced to the loose- ness of their religious notions, than upon their doctrines alone.
The greatest blot upon the character of Cotton Mather, in the general opinion, is his conduct in relation to the " Salem Witchcraft." He is charged, not only with having been the chief agent in kindling the fierce excitement of the public mind on that subject, but with having instigated and encouraged the barbarities in which it expended itself. The worst motives, moreover, have been attributed to him for the part he acted. He has been accused of having fanned the terrific flame, for the gratification of personal ambition or professional vanity ; with having been willing
101
THE SECOND CHURCH.
to risk all the bloody results of the persecution, for the chance of restoring the political power of the clergy, which was fast slipping out of their hands ; and with odious hypo- crisy, in pretending implicit faith in the supposed cases of demoniacal possession, and a religious indignation against the witches, in order to inflame the passion of the populace, and influence the decision of the courts for the furtherance of his deep schemes.
That he was one of the principal actors in this tragedy is evident. That his writings upon the wonders of the invisible world, and the stand he early took, had some influence upon public sentiment, is quite probable. But that he was really actuated by the motives alleged against him is an accusation that would require more proof to sub- stantiate it than has ever yet been brought together. However credulous, however ambitious, Cotton Mather was not artful nor hypocritical. No one who is intimate with his history will be ready to suspect him of these vices. No one who searches his nature most thoroughly will find them amongst his faults ; at least, not in a degree adequate to the given result. He often deceived himself; but he was not adroit enough in cunning to deceive others. The very conceit that prevented him from clearly seeing his own faults prevented him also from attempting to hide them from others. He was too ardent and demonstrative for a hypocrite ; too restless and garrulous, too impulsive and erratic, for a conspirator. His mind was too full of thoughts, notions, and fancies, ever crowding and chasing one another, and all straining after the light in word or deed, to hatch or brood in the dark a single dangerous
102
HISTORY OF
purpose. He may be called a fool for his credulity ; but he certainly cannot be called a knave for his cunning:
His first publication on the subject of witchcraft was in 1685, the year in which he was ordained, and several years before the great excitement and the Salem trials. The very date of this work is evidence enough of two facts, important to a right judgment of his case : first, that his belief in witchcraft was early deeply rooted in his mind, and sustained by the scriptural and historical testimony referred to in that book ; and, secondly, that he did not get up a fury in himself for the occasion when the time was ripe for the Salem tragedy, but had actually called public attention to the subject, because of his opinion of its intrin- sic interest, long before the period when it is supposed the plan was formed to excite the people for his own impor- tance or for the political interests of the clergy.
There is no doubt that he was passionately fond of the marvellous. From his early life, he had meditated much upon the " angelical ministry," both good and bad, and was a firm believer in it. He supposed that spirits were all around man's path, and ever active. He attributed temptations and wicked thoughts to the agency of the evil angels ; and traced back to God, pure suggestions, holy impulses, and choice blessings, dispensed through the kind ministrations of the good. To "please the angels " was one of his daily motives; to be in sympathy with them, an object of frequent endeavor; to be like them, and fitted for their communion, his constant prayer. He studied, as he said, with all the thought and learning he could master, the existence, properties, and relations of the angels, and
103
THE SECOND CHURCH.
the honor due to them by men, especially to the " benign angels." He made himself familiar with every declaration and hint of Scripture, as to their ministry towards children · or particular saints, or the church in general. He made catalogues of his mercies from heaven, and compared them with those attributed in the Bible to their agency. He found many instances in which the similarity was sufficient to encourage him to suppose he also had felt their kindness. And, when he thought of these things, his soul would over- flow with rapturous praises ; "and in the midst of them," he writes, " I could not forbear saying, ' If any good angels of the Lord are now by me, do you also bless the Lord, ye heavenly ministers! and, oh! adore that free grace of his which employs you to be serviceable to so poor, so mean, so vile a wretch as is here prostrate before him." *
* A few other sentences, from those which are scattered through his private papers, may not be uninteresting in this connection : -
" Have I, to animate myself unto holiness in all manner of conversa- sation, in my contemplations often endeavored to affect myself with the holiness of the purified spirits in the paradise of God; their flaming devotions ; their delight in God; their hatred of sin; the contempt with which they look down on the high things of this world; and the goodness with which they treat one another? - done this with earnest desires to be as like them as this mortal state may attain to and will admit of ?
" Have I frequently thought, with what a zeal of the Lord of hosts angels do burn; how they are upon the wing to execute the commands of our Lord; with what pure eyes of detestation they behold evil, and look upon iniquity ; with what pleasure they do good offices for the heirs of sal- vation ? and have I wished and longed, oh that I were, as far as my capa- city would allow of it, like unto those holy ones?" "Have I thought what returns I should make for the benefits I have received by God's angels ? "
" Have I, because I have thought it would be a little angelical, taken a list of many poor people, with some care to have their necessities relieved against the approaching winter ?"
104
HISTORY OF
The evil angels, on the other hand, were as much objects of hatred and dread as the good were of honor and love. He watched against their machinations; he strove to resist them ; he prayed to be delivered from their power.
Few of his own age probably had such a strong and lively faith in the "angelical ministry," and fewer still made such practical use of their belief. We can easily imagine that such a man should have been a firm believer in demoniacal possession and witchcraft, especially in an age when the almost universal faith of the Christian world was on his side, when the wisest men and the ablest jurists gave him their sanction. We wonder now at the credulity of our ancestors, and deem it well nigh impossible that such a delusion should have held such wide and deep dominion over intelligent minds, so short a time ago. But we should remember that it was nearly half a century later than the date of the Salem trials before the English sta- tute which made witchcraft a capital offence was repealed .* And more, I think, than half a century later, Sir William Blackstone declared " that to deny the actual existence of witchcraft and sorcery is at once flatly to contradict the revealed word of God and the testimony of every nation in the world."
There can be no difficulty, then, in accounting for Cot- ton Mather's exceeding interest in the cases of supposed witchcraft which were occurring in his neighborhood, and in the process of the trials at Salem, without attributing to him any sinister design or any cruel purpose. It was pre- cisely the subject that, above all others, would excite his
* A.D. 1736.
105
THE SECOND CHURCH.
curiosity, and engage his most earnest attention. It may be no credit to him that he so rioted in the marvellous ; but that such was his taste and his propensity is reason enough for his having been so prominent and busy in this baneful delusion.
But it is constantly hinted, if not directly asserted, that guilt attaches to Cotton Mather, - the terrible guilt of the sacrifice of innocent persons, who, on insufficient evi- dence, were condemned and put to death. The stain of their blood, in the view of some, is upon him. He pushed on the courts, it is said, to a murderous judgment. Our just and natural horror, as we read the history of this awful tragedy, causes a feeling of indignation to spring up against all who were instrumental in it. We are filled with pity, as we ought to be, for the victims, and with dis- gust at the executioners. But emotions like these, how- ever honorable to our hearts, ought not to be allowed to - unfit our minds for a calm and sober judgment. Compas- sion ceases to be a virtue when it stands in the way of justice. Our sympathies have been so strongly excited to- wards the one side, that we have not, I think, been entirely just to the other. Several innocent persons were actually hung as witches ; therefore the judges were weak and san- guinary men, those who countenanced them were as un- worthy and cruel as themselves, and Massachusetts herself must wear an indelible stain. Such seems to be the reason- ing which by common consent we have adopted ; such the conclusion into which we seem disposed to settle down. But, though it goes against my heart even to appear to turn oue impulse of pity from the sufferers, I must ask you to
14
106
HISTORY OF
look for one moment with composure at the other side. An .alarming excitement was prevailing in Salem and its vici- nity. A large and continually increasing number of people complained that they were preternaturally vexed and tor- tured. They exhibited all the marks of real suffering. They kept the town in disturbance by their strange actions and sudden outcries. They insisted that their tormentors were spectres, exactly resembling certain living men and women, whom they described. They declared that these spectral tormentors tendered them a book, in the devil's name, to sign or touch, in token of allegiance; and, if they refused, redoubled their tortures. So great became the agitation and disorder, so importunate the outcries of the victims, so manifold their apparent sufferings, and so reiterated their charges against the individuals whom the spectres personated, that the magistrates were compelled to take cognizance of the matter. They must do some- thing to put a stop to these alarming evils. They pro- ceeded to an investigation. The afflicted, being examined, testified to the reality of their calamities. Being con- fronted with the persons whom they accused, they would immediately swoon, or fall into convulsions, from which the touch of no other hands than those of the accused them- selves could restore them ; but, when touched by them, they immediately revived. Moreover, as if under the influence of a mysterious fascination or sympathy, they would imi- tate all the motions of the accused, and obey their gestures, though apparently too distant to observe them. The magistrates were puzzled. The whole country was in confusion. The General Court was able to transact little
107
THE SECOND CHURCH.
business, and adjourned, on account of the commotion, from the second day of July to the second Wednesday in October. A general panic seized all classes. The wisest men in the country were at first carried away with the excitement. They all believed in witchcraft and com- merce with the devil, even those who afterwards wrote most strongly against the hard things done in the trials ; and they thought that the present were cases of real pos- session. They all, too, felt the necessity of vigorous mea- sures of some kind, to relieve the country, if possible, from the sore calamity that had fallen upon it. What shall be done? The seven judges * tried and condemned one, - who was executed, - and then hesitated. The cases multiplied. The jails were overflowing with the accused. " What shall be done ?" was the question that passed from mouth to mouth. At this stage, Cotton Mather made a proposal far more characteristic of him than ambition or cruelty. He offered, that, if the possessed people who were under accusation might be scattered far asunder, he would singly provide for six of them, and see whether, without more bitter methods, prayer with fasting would not put an end to these heavy trials. This offer was refused, as we might suppose ; for all men had not the same faith as our pastor in those remedies. But that he was in earnest in his offer is evident, not only from the general tone of his opinions and practice, but also from the fact that he himself, during the witchcraft trials, spent a day almost every week in secret fasting and prayer.
* Lieut .- Governor Stoughton, Major Saltonstall, Major Richards, Major Gedney, Mr. Wait Winthrop, Capt. Sewall, and Mr. Sargeant.
108
HISTORY OF
But the matter was now in the courts ; and through the courts it must go, and by the courts be decided. Only, before proceeding further, the Governor and Council, accord- ing to "an old charter-practice," asked the advice of the clergy of Boston. A paper, containing eight articles of advice, was drawn up by them, the author of which was Cotton Mather. It has been objected against, but, I think, without reason. It is a document not dishonorable to the ministers. If Cotton Mather's true sentiments are to be judged of by it, his most partial advocate could ask for no better vindication. It recommends "a very critical and exquisite caution " in the conduct of the prosecution. It urges that all proceedings be managed with " an exceeding tenderness to the accused." It suggests, that, in the . examinations, "as little noise, company, and openness as possible " should be allowed; and that no tests of doubtful lawfulness be employed. It is true, that in a single section it recommends " the speedy and vigorous prosecutions of such as have rendered themselves obnoxious, according to the directions given in the laws of God, and the wholesome statutes of the English nation." But is this an offence against humanity, justice, and religion ? As good citi- zens; as friends of law; as men who honored the word of God, and would uphold the wholesome statutes * of their country ; as those who would not flinch from a duty be- cause it was painful, or have the judges quail before the severity of the law they were bound under oath to enforce ;
* At the first trial, the statute of James the First was in force. Before the second, the Old Colony law, making witchcraft a capital crime, was revived.
1
109
THE SECOND CHURCH.
and as men, moreover, who believed that commerce with the devil was one of the worst of crimes, - what less could they have advised ? " They imagined the prince of hell, with his legions, to be among them, the Lord's host, seek- ing among them whom he might devour ; and they would give place to him for subjection, - no, not for an hour. Set upon by invisible and supernatural foes, they thought of nothing but prompt defiance, inflexible resistance, and the victory which God would give his people. They would have made bare the arm of flesh against the serpent in bodily presence, could he have put on an assailable shape : as it was, they let it fall without mercy on those whom they understood to be his emissaries."* They were true Massachusetts men and ministers ; and, “whatever opinions upon facts or duties Massachusetts has held, her habit has been, whether for good or ill, to follow them with vigorous action." ¡
* See Dr. Palfrey's admirable Semi-centennial Discourse before the Massachusetts Historical Society.
+ Hutchinson says, "The court justified themselves from books of law, and the authorities of Keble, Dalton, and other lawyers, then of the first character, who lay down rules of conviction as absurd and dangerous as any which were practised in New England. Reproach for hanging witches, although it has been often cast upon the people of New England by those of Old, yet it must have been done with an ill grace. The people of New England were of a grave cast, and had long been disposed to give a serious, solemn construction even to common events in Providence ; but in Old Eng- land the reign of Charles II. was as remarkable for gaiety as any whatsoever, and for scepticism and infidelity as any which preceded it. ... In Scotland, seven were executed for witches, in 1697, upon the testimony of one girl, about eleven years old. ... More witches have been put to death in a single county in England, in a short space of time, than have ever suffered in New England, altogether, from first to last." - History of Massachusetts, vol. ii. chap. 1.
110
HISTORY 0F
It was no fault of the clergy, as Hutchinson suggests, that the magistrates paid more regard to the last article than to all that preceded it, and chose to carry on the prosecutions with " all possible vigor," to the neglect of " the exquisite caution and excessive tenderness " which had been so ear- nestly recommended.
If the trials had been conducted according to the advices of the ministers ; if all presumptive and spectral evidence, all tests of doubtful lawfulness, all " testimonies whose force and strength is from the devils alone," had been re- jected ; if all the " cautions, restrictions, and qualifications " recommended by the clergy had been properly regarded, " the judges might have proceeded as vigorously as they pleased ; the more vigorously the better, for by this means the jails had been the sooner emptied, and the accused persons set at liberty." *
* " From persons who believed in the reality of witchcraft, and that the proper witch is deserving of death, as all these ministers most seriously did, -I see not how better advice than that which they proffered to the magistrates on this occasion could reasonably have been expected. And happy had it been for all concerned, if the judges had been content to fol- low it. But they would not. At least, some of them would not, particu- larly Chief Justice Stoughton. He seems to have been fully satisfied, at least for a time, as to the validity of the 'spectral evidence,' and other branches of the devil's testimony ; and consequently the work of hanging went on." - Pond's Life of Sir William Phipps.
Hutchinson says that it was not long before one of the judges [Sewall] was sensible of his error. At a public fast, he gave the minister a note, acknowledging his error in the late proceedings, and desiring to humble himself in the sight of God and his people. But Chief Justice Stoughton, being informed of this act of one of his associates, said, for himself, when he sat in judgment he had the fear of God before his eyes, and gave his opinion according to the best of his understanding; and although it might appear afterwards that he had been in an error, yet he saw no necessity of a public acknowledgment of it.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.