Sadducismus Triumphatus deeply influenced Cotton Mather's Wonders of the Invisible World ( 1693 ), written to justify the Salem witch trials in the following year.

* Reiner Smolinski, " Authority and Interpretation: Cotton Mather's Response to the European Spinozists ," in, Shaping the Stuart World, 1603-1714: The Atlantic Connection.

A copy of this letter was printed in Increase Mather's Cases of Conscience, published in 1693.

Mather's text thus is one of the more important documents in American history, because it reflects a particular tradition of seeing and understanding the significance of place.

Cotton Mather's relationship with his well-known father, Increase Mather, is thought by some to have been a strained and difficult one.

Mather's most fatal influence over the trials was in composing the answer to the question of whether or not to allow Spectral evidence, that is, allowing the afflicted girls to claim that some invisible ghost of the defendant was tormenting them, and for this to be considered evidence of witchcraft by the defendant, even if the defendant denied it and professed their own strongly held Christian beliefs.

Upham shows a balanced and complicated view of Cotton Mather such as this first mention: " One of Cotton Mather's most characteristic productions is the tribute to his venerated master.

* Cotton Mather's "~ Resolved ~" is A Puritan Father's Lesson Plan.

Mather's sister College is Morse College at Yale University.

Mather's Bilingual / English as a Second Language ( ESL ) program is central to the school's curriculum.

Little is known today of Mather's life ; the gaps in his personal history and his taciturn personality may have been what earned him the sobriquet " Mysterious Dave.

Mather's life through most of the 1870s is poorly documented.

A large portion of the book was also excerpted that same year in volume 2 of Cotton Mather's history, Magnalia Christi Americana.

It consists of seven " books " collected into two volumes, and it details the religious development of Massachusetts, and other nearby colonies in New England from 1620 to 1698. Notable parts of the book are Mather's descriptions of the Salem Witch Trials, in which he criticizes some of the methods of the court and attempts to distance himself from the event ; his account of the escape of Hannah Dustan, one of the best known to captivity narrative scholars ; his complete " catalogus " of all the students that graduated from Harvard College, and story of the founding of Harvard College itself ; and his assertions that Puritan slaveholders should do more to convert their slaves to Christianity.

There are only a few reliable reports of Mather's life following his departure from Dodge.

In particular, Mather's review of the American experiment sought to explain signs of his time and the types of individuals drawn to the colonies as predicting the success of the venture.

In November 1713, Mather's wife, newborn twins, and two-year-old daughter all succumbed during a measles epidemic.

Of Mather's three wives and 15 children, only his last wife and two children survived him.

Despite Cotton Mather's efforts, he never became quite as well known and successful in politics as his father.

Boylston and Mather's inoculation crusade " raised a horrid Clamour " amongst the people of Boston.

) At the extreme, in November 1721, someone hurled a lighted grenade into Cotton Mather's house.

Mather's contemporary critic, Robert Calef, considered him responsible for laying the very groundwork that inspired the trials at Salem, pg.

It was indeed a superstitious age, but made much more so by their operations, influence, and writings, beginning with Increase Mather's movement at the assembly of Ministers in 1681 and ending with Cotton Mather's dealings with the Goodwin children, and the account thereof which he printed and circulated far and wide.

The original full version of the letter, called Return of the Several Ministers dated June 15, 1692, and had already been reprinted in the fall 1692 in the final two pages of Increase Mather's Cases of Conscience.

The last event in Cotton Mather's involvement with witchcraft was his attempt to cure Mercy Short and Margaret Rule.

Poole was not a historian, but a famous librarian, and a lover of literature, including Mather's Magnalia " and other books and tracts, numbering nearly 400 were never so prized by collectors as today.

" Poole announces his intention to redeem Mather's name, using as a springboard a harsh critique of a recently published tome by Charles Wentworth Upham called " Salem Witchcraft Volumes I and II With an Account of Salem Village and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects.

" He goes on to say that Calef's collection of writings " gave a shock to Mather's influence, from which it never recovered.

" Thus, Poole's critique might better be understood as aimed at Calef, Mather's contemporary, who saw fit to ascribe to him, and his influence, the largest portion of blame.

Poole refers to Calef as Mather's " personal enemy " and opens a line, " Without discussing the character and motives of Calef ..." and he does not follow up on this suggestiveness, to discuss any motive or reason to impune Calef's character.

") Many of Poole's arguments were easily attended to, but both authors emphasize the importance of Cotton Mather's difficult and contradictory view on spectral evidence, as copied in the final pages of Increase Mather's " Cases of Conscience " called " The Return of Several Ministers.

Hansen considered Mather's handling of the Goodwin Children to be sane and temperate.

Later, with Robert Calef's observation of Mather's dealings with Margaret Rule, it became seen as the latter, with Mather perceived as drawing information from her through leading questions, and possibly having a prurient interest -- " Smutty " in Mather's words — in his intimate dealings with afflicted young women.

Mather began to publicize and celebrate the trials well before they were put to an end: " If in the midst of the many Dissatisfaction among us, the publication of these Trials may promote such a pious Thankfulness unto God, for Justice being so far executed among us, I shall Re-joyce that God is Glorified ..." ( Wonders of the Invisible World ).

He calls himself a historian not an advocate, but writes in such a way that clearly presumes the guilt of the accused and adding insults e. g. calling Martha Carrier a rampant hag ( Wonders of the Invisible World ).

William Stoughton, Mather wrote Wonders of the Invisible World written during the trials and published in 1693.

Wonders of the Invisible World appeared at the same time as Increase Mather ’ s Cases of Conscience.

Upon reading Calef's More Wonders of the Invisible World, Increase Mather publicly burned the book in Harvard Yard.

Hansen also claims that most negative impressions of Cotton Mather stem from his defense of the ongoing trials in Wonders of the Invisible World.

* Wonders of the Invisible World ( 1693 )

* The Wonders of the Invisible World ( 1693 edition ) in PDF format

More Wonders of the Invisible World

* Wonders of the Invisible World in etext.

* The Wonders of the Invisible World ( 1693 edition ) in PDF format.

His best-known works include the Magnalia Christi Americana, the Wonders of the Invisible World and The Biblia Americana.

Mather quickly completed his account of the trials Wonders of the Invisible World and it was given to Phips when he returned from the fighting in Maine in early October.

* The Wonders of the Invisible World.

Robert Calef published More Wonders of the Invisible World to criticize Mather for this position.

*" Wonders of the Invisible World " ( 1988 essay ) in October – November issue of New North Artscape

*" Wonders of the Invisible World " ( essay )

This was followed by a second novel, Preston Falls ( 1998 ), and a short story collection, The Wonders of the Invisible World ( 1999 ).