Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather chronicles the Salem witch trials which took place in New England in the late 18th century. Together with the trials, this book holds detailed accounts of devilish phenomena Mather believed were linked to the discovery of the local witches. Mather discusses a range of spiritual phenomena reported by various figures in the fledgling society of New England. Sudden apparitions, visions, and other strange goings on which she believed were linked to the frequent finding of witches are cataloged. The bulk of the text however is concerned with the trials of many witches, the causes of their accusations, and the circumstances under which they were tried. Mather's book is today one of the best and most complete primary narratives of what came to be known as the Salem witch trials; with accounts of witnesses, judges, and evidence put forward all present. Furthermore, Mather's book was published in 1693, shortly after the trials were concluded.

Cotton Mather chronicles the Salem witch trials which took place in New England in the late 18th century. Together with the trials, this book holds detailed accounts of devilish phenomena Mather believed were linked to the discovery of the local witches. Mather discusses a range of spiritual phenomena reported by various figures in the fledgling society of New England. Sudden apparitions, visions, and other strange goings on which she believed were linked to the frequent finding of witches are cataloged. The bulk of the text however is concerned with the trials of many witches, the causes of their accusations, and the circumstances under which they were tried. Mather's book is today one of the best and most complete primary narratives of what came to be known as the Salem witch trials; with accounts of witnesses, judges, and evidence put forward all present. Furthermore, Mather's book was published in 1693, shortly after the trials were concluded.

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The Pauline epistles provided the theological inspiration for the religious revolution known as the Protestant Reformation, the legacy of which was still being given form during Cotton Mather's lifetime and career. Mather's commentary gives voice to the ongoing struggle between Protestants and Catholics, and between Protestants of many stripes: Puritans and Anglicans, Calvinists and Arminians, Trinitarians and Socinians, Protestants of the state and the sects. In his commentary, he also dwells on eschatological topics, ecclesiology, the papacy, classic doctrines of the Reformation such as faith, grace and election, and perhaps above all, on the piety of practical Christian living. But another revolution was also taking place during Mather's lifetime, one that was equally important for his thought: modernity. Mather's Pauline commentary was profoundly shaped by this development, as he attempted to discover the meaning of Paul's writings in their original context, and as he attempted to make sense of those writings against the shifting backdrop of new discoveries in natural philosophy, history, and cultural studies. He and his sources appropriated the wealth of materials available to them in the Republic of Letters: Jewish rabbinic sources, Renaissance philology, the growing body of comparative religious studies, the emerging fields of astronomy, earth science, and agronomy, empirically-rooted historiography as well as the treasure-trove of materials available for the comparative study of cultures, from the ancient Near East, Greece, and Rome, to contemporary European and New World peoples.

The Day of Doom - Or, a poetical description of the great and last judgement, with other poems: also, a memoir of the author, authobiography, and sketch of his funeral sermon is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1867. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

The Wonders of the Invisible World - being an account of the tryals of several witches lately executed in New England is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1862. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

The Witchcraft Delusion in New England - Vol. 2 is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1866. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

This volume of the Biblia Americana contains Cotton Mather's annotations on the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Jeremiah, and Isaiah. A mixture of historical-textual criticism and pious explications, the commentaries are a treasure trove for scholars interested in the development of Reformed theology and biblical interpretation during a decisive period of intellectual change in the early modern Atlantic world. Mather, an apologetically oriented, pastoral yet deeply learned exegete, confronts the early Enlightenment challenges to the Bible's authority. He engages with issues of translation and the difficult questions about authorship, provenance, and genre being asked in his day, especially about the three books traditionally ascribed to King Solomon. Who wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes? How can the worldly wisdom of these books be reconciled with the Christian gospel? Is Canticles only a royal wedding song celebrating human love? In turn, the annotations on Isaiah and Jeremiah are crucially concerned with the relevance and evidential value of the Hebrew prophets for the claims of Christian theology. If seen in their original contexts, in what ways can the oracles of Isaiah and Jeremiah be understood to speak of Christ, the gospel and the second coming? The volume shows the struggle of exegetes in Mather's generation to adjust traditional interpretations of the Old Testament to a growing awareness of the Scriptures' historicity. The annotations shift between detailed attention to this historical dimension of the texts and typological and allegorical readings. Moreover, many of the entries reveal a new "Baconian" concern with demonstrating the factual realism of the scriptural narratives by recourse to empirical evidence and the natural sciences.

Cotton Mather's synoptic commentary on Ezra through the Psalms contains the core of the massive theological and scholarly endeavor that he called "Biblia Americana." Here, he links biblical to secular history, analyzes the problem of suffering and evil in creation, and considers the Psalms both as Hebrew poetry and as Christian prophecy. In his annotations on Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, Mather explores topics that range from the philosophical underpinnings of international law to court customs in the Persian Empire to the uneven progress of the reformations attempted by Ezra and Nehemiah. In Job, Mather turns to questions of theodicy and natural philosophy. The Psalms commentary shows his linguistic acumen and his formidable skill as a Christian Hebraist, as well as his sensitivity to difficult matters of hermeneutics. Throughout, he displays the lively wit, curious intellect, and compassionate nature that made him one of the most popular ministers of the colonial period.