The Portland daily press., 1894-02-10
THElTHREE MATHERS.
Sturdy Pioneers of Congregationalism in
the New World.

Professor Williston Walker read an in
teresting paper before the Connecticut
Historical Society recently. The theme
of the paper was 1.-THE Services of the
Mathers in New England Religious De-
velopment." Hereditary talent, said the
essayist, is rare; but among the most
conspicuous instances in the history of
America is that of the three Mathers.
Richard, Increase and Cotton, each of
whom labored in a somewhat different
way, but to all of whom the religious
development of New England is pro-
foundry indebted Richard may be de-
scribed as the developer of Congregation
al Polity; to his SOIL Increase belongs
the distinction of having defended the
ecclesiastical system from political dan
gers; while his grandson. Cotton, was
eminently the historian of the New
England Puritans.
Professor Walker first took up the work
of Richard Mather, showing that from
almost the beginning of his ministry at
Dorchester in 1886 he was looked upon
as the foremost literary defender OF Con-
gregationallsm, sending forth EXPOSE
tions of it's methods and replies to Eng
lish critics that were largely formative
accident that made Richard Mather the
writer of the Cambridge Platform OF
1913, and force in the Half Way Cove
nant discussion-a system which he
aided largely in introducing
Richard Mather was one of the several
men of the first generation of nearly
equal ability. Hooker and Cotton were
hi MT hJS I'M
without rival in the second New Eng
land generation. He was the greatest OF
the Mathers The leading preacher of
the colony, president of Harvard College
and a man engaged in every enterprise
of Importance in his time. it was, said
Professor Walker, in the domain of poll
tics that Increase did his best work for
New England. When the tyranny of An
dros had swept away the defences of all
New England political and religious in
situations, it was Increase Mather who
went to England as the informal repre-
sentative OF Massachusetts in 1858, and
who saved Plymouth colony from being
added to New York. His persuasions
obtained new charter for Massachu-
sets in 1881, which, though not all that
he wished, preserved the main features
of New England political and religious
life, and was mo1e advantageous than
any other American could have obtained.
So important was he in the eyes of the
English government that ne was nomi-
mated to the first offices under the new
charter.
But political jealousies, and his own
extremely conservative disposition, made
Increase Mather's last years not wholly
happy.
Cotton Mather, said Professor Walker.
is the best known of the Mathers to the
general public; and his grotesque style
\ MT NH hov a
the popular fancy and made him seem
more typical of Puritan New Enlgand
than he really was. He was not the
equal of his father or grandfather in
ability, influence or judgment; but he
was man of talent. Professor Walker
had good word to say for the Mag
MALTA, (which, though deficient when
judged by strict modern standards of
accuracy as to date and place, is our best
picture of the founders of New England
and gives us our best insight into the
Puritan spirit.
In conclusion, Professor Walker spoke
of the vast literary productiveness OF
these men. Richard Mather, published
less, owing to scanty colonial facilities
for printing; but Increase printed 159
works and Cotton 451. Among the num-
Der were treatises of size and historical
or controversial works of permanent i'm
portance but the vast majority were to
serve the purpose now ministered to by
periodical religious literature, designed
to arouse Christian feeling, or lead the
young in the principles of ethics. A
large proportion were sermons on special
occasions, elections, funerals, ordina-
tions, exections; some were prefaces to
works commended to the public; others
letters on practical topics as remote
from theology as the management of in
fictitious diseases. But all this mass of
printed matter, commonplace as most of
it seems to modern reader helped to
meet a real want in day when news
papers were only beginning and periodical
literature was still far in the future. 1t
constituted no small part of the Mathers
power.