Customer Reviews

The Life and Times of Cotton Mather

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This is one of the best historical biographies I have ever read. If sterotypes and simple categorizations are the junk food of the mind, here is well-prepared dish to feast on. The author's wealth of research and evident grasp of the period and the person permeate the pages. Here is a wonderful opportunity to visit a transitional time between the middle ages and the modern scientific age and to get to know an influential, enigmatic and represtative player of the period. Whether you are drawn toward biographies in general or history in particular, this masterful book will make a forceful impact on your view of the Puritans.

Religion, next to poor economic conditions, was primarily responsible for the foundation of the colonies. It too was the backbone for its evolvement. And one of the chief leaders in that unfolding was the noted Congregational minister Cotton Mather, who, as author, theologian, science-minded neophyte and sometimes political insider, helped to lead the way before the likes of Washington, Franklin, Paine and Jefferson came into the underdeveloped social, religious and political scene. Though often cited as the one who added fuel to the fire in the Salem witch trials by giving a sense of legitmacy to the ideas and beliefs of spectral evidence, he was also openly criticized by his harshest critic and dogged nemesis Robert Calef, who mocked him for his blatant inaction and for his uttering of dated apocalyptic pronouncements when primitive superstition took a firm hold of the Salem villagers: "Robert Calef, Mather's angriest and most dogged critic, charged that by being "the most active and forward of any minister in the country" in the Goodwin case, and by printing his account of it, Mather "conduced much to the kindling of those flames" at Salem that "threatened the destruction of this country." P.87. There were those who saw the trials for what they were-a farce. And Mather-as a "learned" man-was not in the league of those who possessed clear comprehension. Hence, his name, over time, became stigmatized with that dark period of early colonial history.

As people are sometimes granted a second chance, Cotton Mather, after the tragic witch fiasco, took the opportunity to do only good-even in exchange for the bad-which he received from his enemies, a Biblical offering of the "other" cheek. The latter was the way of German Pietism, an approach that appealed to Mather, for it had: "...its emphasis on pastoral work and involvement in community life, its far-flung missionary work, perhaps especially its ecumenical attempt to reduce dogma to essentials." P. 231. But more than that, Cotton Mather seemed to try to go beyond himself, to try to outdue past accomplishments, because there was always this psychological manifestation of the stammerer he used to be, coupled with the stress of his prominent family lineage. It seemed to be pressure coupled atop pressure, forceful and expected success at all costs. In trying to be God's warrior and live up to perfection, he paid many costs: bankruptcy, the death of 13 of his 15 children, intellectual belittlement, to scores of other misfortunes. Yet, through his voluminous religious, economic, social, science, political and medical writings, he refined the colonies to a crest that it had never been at before. He, by his sermons, writings, insight, gave the colonies a caliber of legitmacy that it sorely needed in the eyes of the mother country, England. In a way, he gave the colonies respect by immersing himself in the lives of those who sought his council: academics, doctors, politicians to a bevy of others. He, in effect, taught himself and become knowledgeable-sometimes even an expert-in the career fields of the very individuals who sought him out. And thus, he was past being well-rounded and effective. But that also brought about jealousy and contempt. But prayer, introspection and conformity to theology (though it was a heavy struggle) gave him the necessary framework to do what he had to do. And upon his death, the respect that he so yearned for while alive, was heaped upon him in abundance.

Kenneth Silverman's The Life and Times of Cotton Mather is quite simply a stunning work of early colonial history and biography; he delves deeply into age-old diaries, hymnals, political documentation, to a whole pool of sources, and he makes them come to vivid life by his crisp and tight writing style. He brings a bygone era and all its conceivable joys, sufferings and anger to the forefront, illustrating with scholarly and literary certitude that the problems of our times have not differed in any extremity to previous generations. The evolution just becomes more pronounced. In the Life and Times of Cotton Mather, readers will be exposed to wharves, perriwigs, flickering candles and towering Congregational steeples that loom over a fledging city trying to form its own identity, history and truth. The book is a resounding achievement.

If I had to describe this book in one word it would be: Excellent. I thought I knew a great deal about Cotton Mather, but after reading this book I realized I really didn't. I always believed Cotton was much more involved in the Salem witch trials than he actually was. I also didn't know someone tried to kill Cotton because of his support of small pox inoculation. And I didn't realize how involved he was not only in religion, but also in science and politics. After reading this book I find I think I know more about Cotton Mather than I know about my own neighbors today. This is a very detailed book.
In this book we see both the great talents of Cotton Mather and his faults. Not only are we given information on what he did, but also we find out why he did it. His life is covered from birth to death. We find out how his father and even his grandfather influenced his life. We find out how his quest for fame and struggles with that quest affected his life. We see the struggles he had with three wives and a multitude of children.
Not only do we learn about Cotton Mather, we learn about what was going on around him, and so we are shown a slice of how society operated at that time.
There is a tremendous amount of information in this book. In fact, in my opinion, there was too much information. For example, in the early part of the book, we learn about Cotton's stuttering problem--which is good, because we learn how this affects Cotton's life at that time, but this goes on and on and on for many pages. I didn't need to know that much. But, on the other hand, none of this information is useless, and for anyone wanting a greater understanding of Cotton Mather, it is probably welcome. This is true throughout the book. The writing is engaging and easy to read, but to me the book at times becomes somewhat tedious. Not because it ever gets boring, but simply because I wasn't looking for such a detailed study of Cotton Mather's life. In fact, I found myself at times skimming through paragraphs to get to something new. Again, this is not a statement about the book as much as a statement that maybe for some people-like me--there is just too much detail for what we wanted to read.
But even then, this book is one of the best biographies of any I have ever read from this time period. As a comparison, I will relate this to a very popular book from a few years ago-John Adams by David McCullough (yes, I know this is later time period). In the Adams book, we are given only a slice of history of Adams life, starting from early on in the American Revolution forward. In the Mather book, we learn nearly everything from his birth to his death. The Adams book is distorted in that the writer tries to make a hero of Adams, never pointing out his weaknesses, but only stressing his strengths. In Cotton Mather we are given everything-both strengths and weaknesses. In Adams we are given just a string of events in the life of Adams. In Mather we are given not only the events, but are given information to understand just why Cotton Mather reacted to them and influenced them as he did. I know I am in a minority, but I thought "John Adams" by McCullough was not a great biography. Cotton Mather is-even though I also thought it was too detailed for my tastes. In fact, I think if this book were edited to half its length, I believe it would find a much larger audience. But then, it would offer only half the information. A definite dilemma for any author.
In the end, however, this is a tremendous book offering a great deal of information. It is well written and easy to read. I have read other accounts of Cotton Mather's life, but this one has to be the best, offering the most, I have ever read. As a book in general I would rate it only a three, just because, as I said before, sometimes I found it tedious because of the tremendous amount of information.
The book is well-written but not the best written book I have ever read. It is engaging, but sometimes tedious (if that makes sense). It is a good book to read, but it isn't one of my favorite books of all time by a long shot, so rating this book is a bit of a struggle. So to make things easy, I have decided to simply judge the book by its cover, and its cover says, "The Life and Times of Cotton Mather." Judging the book on how the author justified the title, I couldn't not give it a 5 star rating...well, okay a 4. I'll save the 5 star ratings for books I just can't put down.
In any case, if your desire is to learn about the life and times of Cotton Mather, I know of no better book than this one.

"In his curiousness, epic reach, and quirkily ingenious individualism he was...the first unmistakably American figure in the nation's history".

With his Puritan background, weird name, and early involvement in the Salem witch-trials, Mather has - in Silverman's observation - become a "national gargoyle" in the US: a type of bigotry, superstition, and wrathful religion. Silverman's biography gives us all Mather's many faults and human failings (some of which repel, some of which amuse), but there is so much more here: no grim black-hatted witch-finder, Mather was in fact an early scientist and a witty man of the world who shocked ministerial colleagues with his veiw that luxuriant wigs were an "innocent fashion" rather than to be condemned. He was also in many ways humane, preaching Christian ecumenism (within limits), opposing religious persecution, and promoting smallpox innoculation in the face of sceptics.

I can't imagine too many Christians wading through a 400+ page biography about a man that most of them have never heard about, but they should. If nothing else, they would gain tremendous insight about life in early America, especially the Boston society. Along the way they would learn much about one of the most interesting and prominent characters of the colonial times.

Mather came from incredible stock; the uniting of the most honored families in early New England, the Cottons and the Mathers - both grandfathers being famous Puritan preachers in early colonial history. Cotton, obviously named after both grandfathers may seem like a strange name until you know that his own father, also a well-known minister was named Increase (Cotton named one of his sons Increase, and later had a grandson by the same name; how did such a name fall out of favor?). Cotton lived from 1663 to 1728 and few have crammed so much into a lifetime. He preached hour-and-a-half long sermons (and on at least one occasion his pastoral prayer lasted two hours) at Boston's largest church, North Church. He studied medicine and science, fulfilled the full complement of the pastorate, often dabbled in politics, wrote almost 400 books and numerous articles and pamphlets. All of this while battling various illnesses, a stuttering problem, burying 13 of his 15 children and marrying three times.

With all of this production nevertheless Mather is best known for his role in the Salem witch trials and executions, a role that has been somewhat exaggerated. The bigger picture of his life would reveal that in addition to his ecclesiastical achievements he also wrote the definitive history of colonial living in America, was the first to use inoculations (smallpox) and may have actually been the first to discover the germ theory of disease.

Still, Cotton Mather was an odd man for a Puritan pastor. He communed with angels, received "Particular Faiths" (words of knowledge), often doubted his own salvation and flirted for a time with Arianism. In addition, he battled for many years with debt, and more seriously with his last wife, who left him for a time. What a life!

The Life and Times of Cotton Mather is an interesting read. I am glad I took the time.

Be prepared to put away your cartoon caricature of Cotton Mather and discover a complex man. very committed to faith in a unique period of Amercian history. The book is balanced, factual and well written and provides substantive understanding of the complexities of early Amercian church and society. While it is easy to critisize the past, we learn nothing from it unless we delve deeply into the people and society in which it took place. Silverman does a very good job of that and reveals a surprisingly multi-dimensional Cotton Mather who, though he participated in matters unimaginably horrible to us, was actually in some ways a surprisingly enlightened force duirng his time.

The Last Puritan
By Peter Clifford, Esq.

"The New England conscience...does not stop you from doing what you shouldn't - it just stops you from enjoying it." Cleveland Amory

There are few things as perplexing as the study of the "New England conscience." Our thinking is, or should be, rooted in this ethical tradition.

Are we, like Thoreau and Emerson, at the forefront of philosophical thinking? Or are we dullards, living in a philosophical backwater? Have our values changed over the centuries, or have they been constant?

New Englanders typically flatter themselves by taking credit for the American Revolution, the Romantic and Transcendental movements, the abolition of slavery, philosophical pragmatism, even the creation of sliced bread. Those from other parts of the country see us as obnoxious, cranky, hypocritical, and cheap.

The truth lies somewhere in between. There are two dominant themes that emerge from a study of New England thinking: The rejection of Puritanism, and a resulting spirit of inventiveness.

New England inventiveness is personified by one of my personal heroes. Chester Greenwood, the legendary inventor of the earmuff, was an Oxford County native, His brilliance saved literally millions of cold and raw ears from frostbite. However, his story must wait for another day.

Today, we look at Puritanism, specifically the "Last Puritan," Cotton Mather. In The Life and Times of Cotton Mather, Kenneth Silverman examines Mather's complex life, and the resulting history of New England. This important book compares the history of early New England with the subsequent history of revolutionary New England. The comparison shows how we transformed from a land of faith and tyranny into a land of reason, commerce and science.

During the first hundred years, New Englanders rejected the idea of political freedom, and the idea of commercial society. Puritans saw human nature as, (not to mince words), evil. To paraphrase, life stunk. For all but a tiny minority of saints, after this lousy life, we die. Although it is difficult to understand how this appealing philosophy died out, we must try.

Like other philosophical pessimists, such as Hobbes, Machiavelli, and Freud, Puritans believed human nature was unchangeable. Puritans tried to eliminate natural desires for power and aggression. They suppressed all efforts at rebellion. The Puritans' solution was strict conformity, based on rigid moral codes. These codes were enforced by an all-powerful theocratic ministry.

New Englanders, like sassy children, have never liked theocratic ministries. They didn't like them in 1650, and they don't like them now. We like to argue, backstab, and criticize.

Eventually, Puritanism was overthrown in New England. Since this overthrow, we have never gone back. We have held firm to democracy, and the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.

Why did we reject Puritanism, and its leader, Cotton Mather? Have we retained any of our Puritan heritage? Why have we held true to our resulting democratic roots?

Three words: Salem Witch Trials.

In 1692, Mather, Boston's leading Puritan Minister, wrote an article to warn the faithful. The pamphlet was called Memorable Providences. It described the story of several Boston adolescents who experienced "strange fits."

Mather came to believe that Goody Glover, an "ignorant and scandalous old woman," somehow caused the fits. His reasoning seemed natural enough: whenever the kids were near Goody, they started acting up. Goody liked to curse. She also liked to play with dolls - voodoo dolls, with pins in them. Based on this overwhelming evidence, and a series of lengthy interviews with the victims, Mather ultimately concluded that Goody was a witch.

After Mather's article began to circulate in New England, preachers started warning the faithful about witches. Other young girls, and a few boys, began to experience similar fits. These fits usually occurred when the youngsters were near powerless women. Eventually, a group of girls in Salem accused three women of being witches: a slave, an old woman, and a beggar, Sarah Good. They were quickly tried.

The judges at the witch trials, took their lead from Mather,. Based on his analysis, they allowed proof of witchcraft through the use of "spectral evidence." Spectral evidence consisted of the accuser's testimony that he or she saw ghostlike images of the accused haunting the accuser. (You'll be happy to note that since the Daubert and Kumho rulings. spectral evidence is no longer allowed in Maine courtrooms.)

Tragically, several hundred people were either accused or jailed as witches. On one day alone, eight of nine accused witches were hanged. Over the course of that terrible year, 19 men and women were executed.

Silverman has a powerful explanation for both the fits and the hysteria of the witch trials:

"When read in the context of a society that demanded utter submission from the young, Cotton Mather's account of the Goodwin children becomes a tale of sassy adolescents who loathed washing their hands, going to bed or doing their chores. ... "

(Ironically, the author's children do not like washing their hands, going to bed, or doing their chores).

Puritan religious life angered these children. Rebellion was, however, not permitted.

Reforms enacted after the trials took away much of the power of the ministry. This rebellious generation of New Englanders, led by Franklin, John Adams, Sam Adams, and John Hancock, eventually became the revolutionary generation. Based on the recent events in New England, they insisted on separation of church and state, a free press, freedom from arbitrary arrest, and freedom of expression. Freed from theocracy, and conformity, the founding fathers believed that human society would steadily improve, so long as it was free and well educated. Ironically, these same Founding Fathers accepted the moral teachings of Mather, so long as they could do so voluntarily, on their own terms.
If there is a historical positive resulting from our Puritan heritage, it is that religious and intellectual freedom became essential. The liberties of America were enacted in response to the religious horrors of Europe and America in the seventeenth century.

Those horrors still exist. Repression will not work. It never has.