Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather, FRSwas a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer. Known for his vigorous support for the Salem witch trials, he also left a scientific legacy due to his hybridization experiments and his promotion of inoculation for disease prevention. He was subsequently denied the Presidency of Harvard College which his father, Increase, had held...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionReligious Leader
Date of Birth12 February 1663
CityBoston, MA
CountryUnited States of America
Ah! destructive Ignorance, what shall be done to chase thee out of the World!
That there is a Devil is a thing doubted by none but such as are under the influence of the Devil. For any to deny the being of a Devil must be from ignorance or profaneness worse than diabolical.
Families are the Nurseries of all Societies; and the First combinations of mankind.
You may ... make a little recreation of poetry, in the midst of your painful studies. Nevertheless, I cannot but advise you. Withhold thy throat from thirst. Be not so set upon poetry, as to be always poring on the passionate and measured pages. ... let not the Circean cup intoxicate you.