A socially and politically-influential “Puritan” minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer. Author of more than 450 books and pamphlets, Cotton Mather’s ubiquitous literary works made him one of the most influential religious leaders in America. Mather set the nation’s “moral tone”, and sounded the call for second and third generation Puritans, whose parents had left England for the New England colonies of North America to return to the theological roots of Puritanism.
Magnalia Christi Americana is a book written in 1702. Its title is in Latin, and is usually given the English title The Ecclesiastical History of New England as a translation. It consists of seven “books” collected into two volumes and details the religious development of Massachusetts, and other nearby colonies in New England from 1620 to 1698. An excerpt of the book is collected in the widely respected Norton Anthology which details the works and accomplishments of William Bradford. Other 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; 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.
Vade Mecum 