The Mathers, Cotton and Increase, are particularly vexed by something called "spectral evidence." What in the world is that?
It's when someone sees the "spectre," or apparition, of another person, doing some evil act. The actual person can be miles away at the time, but witches were believed to lend the devil their bodily form, and further, people believed that the devil could not assume their appearances unless they gave permission.
This is how people could be convicted of acts of witchcraft despite being able to prove that they were nowhere near the scene of the acts. Their "spectres" were there, and that was enough. Sometimes these spectres showed up in other people's dreams, and this was also admissable as evidence. A huge number of the accused in Salem were imprisoned on the basis of spectral evidence, against which there was no defense. If someone says they saw your apparition doing something evil, you would not be able to prove that it wasn't.
Increase Mather was so deeply troubled by the abuses inherent in this, that he wrote a letter urging judges to admit spectral evidence only as support for stronger, empirical evidence. By itself, Mather decreed, the evidence was worthless. The devil could certainly assume the form of an innocent person as well as a guilty one, and therefore innocent Christians would suffer.
The end of spectral evidence put an end to the witch trials. It seems that actual, physical proof wasn't thick on the ground, and in the years following, judges like Samuel Sewell would repent of their use of it.
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I wonder if one of the reasons why Cotton Mathers supported spectral evidence was because it was simply the opposite view of his father? Of course he was defending his friends that were judges but there may have been more to it that that. Cotton Mathers was always living in the shadow of his father, Increase Mathers, and concerning this matter many of the Puritains very well may have fallen with Cotton on the issue of spectral evidence because many of them were presenting it. Maybe Cotton saw this as an opportunity to be right while his father was wrong; an opportunity to come out of his father's shadow a bit.
ReplyDeleteStacy, I wondered that, too. He was such an educated man, though - taking a position just to be against his father seems rather low. I do think it might have something to do with wanting to break away from his father and make his name apart from his father. Maybe there was a lot more in play here then meets the eye. Unfortunately, if that is the case, a lot of people had to pay dearly for a father-son status battle. More than anything, though, I think these people were totally swept off their feet by all of this craziness, and had no idea what to do other than to go along with the tide or else be washed away, too.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't believe Cotton would have deliberately done ANYTHING just to take a swipe at his father. He treated Increase with the greatest reverence all his life. I think it may have more to do with the haste in which *Wonders of the Invisible World* was published, and also with Cotton's rather credulous nature.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, well, if that was the case, then it must have been REALLY hard for him to go against his father, right? Guess it goes to show just how firmly they held onto their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI personally think it's admirable how fully they did believe. Regardless of the fact that some of the things they believed were ridiculous, they honestly did feel with reason. People today are a lot more flexible, which can be a good thing...but it's still cool to see someone really stand up for something.
ReplyDeleteI agree with James...I don't really think he'd try to go specifically against his father, he seemed to deal with being in Increase's shadow with reasonable ease.
I love this whole idea of Spectral Evidence, it would have made high school so much easier. I really do like the way Brandy put things though, they truly did believe what the were accusing these people of was, I assuse, to be true. They had built this whole thing up that even if they thought it was a lie they all started to believe and buy into it. I still think its pretty bogus how they thought they could justify hanging and pressing people because a handful of people all saw them doing something "witch like" or saw their spirt.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think the whole idea of spectral evidence was a joke. If the people of that time looked back on what they did then, they would called themselves insane. But that is kinda of what happened I suppose since the whole sham came to an end at some point shortly after it started. Why would people believe such stupid ideas as an evil spirit attacking them in the middle of the night when the real person could have been hundreds of miles away? I have no idea
ReplyDeleteYou have to think like a 17th Century person, Forest. WE would have to be nuts to believe something like spectral evidence, but THEY believed in all kinds of supernatural things. Think of how we currently "believe" that light is both a particle and a wave. I suspect that in later centuries, after humans develop even more amazingly sophisticated scientific instruments and theories, those people will think our belief in the wave-particle is just as nuts.
ReplyDeleteSpectral evidence is the craziest thing I have ever heard of. Not only do I think it is crazy but I think that it was just a group of people wanting a way to be cruel and mean and get away with it. I get that it was a different time and people had different believes and understandings. I know that Cotton Mathers was a smart guy and that he probably didn’t get into this just to get at his father. But maybe Cotton and the others who had a hand in the witch trials were just sick and twisted and wanted a way to get away with harming innocent people. This was a way to get away with harming someone and not being punished by god for it.
ReplyDeleteSpectral evidence is very crazy. I'm just very thankful that I wasn't alive in this time. It was a very god thing that it was short lived.
ReplyDelete