the wonders of the invisible world by cotton mather

To send abroad a Book, among such Readers, were a very unadvised thing, if a Man had not such Reasons to give, as I can bring, for such an Undertaking. The unaccountable Frowardness, Asperity, Untreatableness, and Inconsistency of many Persons, every Day gives a visible Exposition of that passage, An evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul and Illustration of that Story, There met him two possessed with Devils, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. I am far from insensible, that at this extraordinary Time of the Devils coming down in great Wrath upon us, there are too many Tongues and Hearts thereby set on fire of Hell that the various Opinions about the Witchcrafts which of later time have troubled us, are maintained by some with so much cloudy Fury, as if they could never be sufficiently stated, unless written in the Liquor wherewith Witches use to write their Covenants and that he who becomes an Author at such a time, had need be fenced with Iron, and the Staff of a Spear. 'Tis, as I remember, the Learned Scribonius, who reports, That one of his Acquaintance, devoutly making his Prayers on the behalf of a Person molested by Evil Spirits, received from those Evil Spirits an horrible Blow over the Face: And I may my self expect not few or small Buffetings from Evil Spirits, for the Endeavours wherewith I am now going to encounter them. Printed first, at Bostun in New-England and Reprinted at London, for John Dunton, at the Raven in the Poultry.

Published by the Special Command of his EXCELLENCY the Govenour of the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England. A brief Discourse upon those Temptations which are the more ordinary Devices of Satan. Some Councels directing a due Improvement of the Terrible things lately done by the unusual and amazing Range of Evil-Spirits in New-England. A short Narrative of a late outrage committed by a knot of Witches in Swede-Land, very much resembling, and so far explaining, that under which New-England has laboured. Observations upon the Nature, the Number, and the Operations of the Devils. Being an Account of the TRYALS OF Several Witches, Lately Excuted in NEW-ENGLAND: And of several remarkable Curiosities therein Occurring.

The wonders of the invisible world by cotton mather