thumb|Wonders of the Invisible World (1693)

The Wonders of the Invisible World was a book written by Cotton Mather and published in 1693. It was subtitled, Observations As well Historical as Theological, upon the Nature, the Number, and the Operations of the Devils. The book defended Mather's role in the witchhunt conducted in Salem, Massachusetts. It espoused the belief that witchcraft was an evil magical power. Mather saw witches as tools of the devil in Satan's battle to "overturn this poor plantation, the Puritan colony", and prosecution of witches as a way to secure God's blessings for the colony.

Its arguments are largely derivative of Saducismus Triumphatus by Joseph Glanvill. A copy of Glanvill's book was in Mather's library when he died.

Robert Calef published a refutation of Mather's book in 1700.

Summary

Cotton Mather was born in 1663. After graduating from Harvard College, he followed in his father's footsteps, becoming pastor of the Second Church of Boston. He continued in this role from 1685 until his death in 1728.

Mather prefaced the trials by saying he would recount them as a historian. One of the trials included was Martha Carrier's, who was "[t]he person of whom the confessions of the witches, and of her own children among the rest, agreed that the devil had promised her she should be Queen of the Hebrews."

See also

  • Salem Witch Trials
  • Puritanism

Notes

  • The Wonders of the Invisible World in etext.
  • The Wonders of the Invisible World(1693 edition) in PDF format.