Reverend Cotton Mather Autograph Manuscript of a Sermon.

Rare late 17th to early 18th century autograph manuscript of a sermon or devotional essay in the hand of the "first American Evangelical" Puritan clergyman Cotton Mather. Duodecimo, comprising two bifolia prepared from a folded and cut sheet of paper to a total of 8 pages, penned in dark brown ink, very densely written (as is usual with Mather), two columns, with notes and glosses in the left column, the text in sections I-VIII (the numeral III apparently used twice), several thousand words in all. An unusually lengthy manuscript, likely written while Mather was assisting his father, Increase, as the preacher at the Second Church of Boston, 1685–1723. Mather was one of the preeminent American intellectuals of the era. He was not simply a theologian and philosopher, but was deeply interested in the sciences, conducting experiments on inoculation against smallpox, plant breeding, meteorology, and a wide variety of other topics in a broad range of disciplines. He was a member of the Royal Society of London, in large part because of his botanical researches, which were reported in his book Curiosa Americana. Although his involvement in the Salem Witch Trials has complicated his legacy, he remains, in many respects, one of the most intellectually curious and progressive figures of colonial America. The text of the present manuscript is, in large part, a theological analysis of the implications of the Doctrine of the Divine Decree, in which Mather speaks out against what he sees as the sophistry of the moral position, "If all is predestined, why should I make any effort for my salvation?" This he refutes in detail in these pages, with much apparatus and inspirational text, ending his argument on the words "Methinks then we should long for heaven! Oh my companions, if you would not long for Heaven, I can foretell that there are more sorrows on earth to come upon you ... Will you long to be where ye weary [are] at rest. But then, Oh Lord, how long, how long, how long!" With this ringing conclusion to the final page, the text ends, apparently complete. Given the small format of the manuscript, it seems likely that it was used in delivering a sermon or homily. In near fine condition, with scattered small areas of ink erosion noted. Housed in a custom modern cloth case and accompanied by a complete transcription of the text; with a letter dated September 29, 1937 on New York Public Library stationery signed by the late Victor Paltsits, Keeper of Mss., indicating that he authenticates the manuscript as in Mather's hand, and a note signed by Louis Henry Cohn of House of Books regarding provenance. Rare.