The Wonders of the Invisible World

Written amid the Salem witch trials, this 1693 treatise by Cotton Mather weaves theological discourse with courtroom drama. Expounding Revelation 12:12, Mather argues that the devil's great wrath — knowing his time is short — has descended upon New England in an extraordinary wave of witchcraft. He surveys methods for detecting witches, presents trial transcripts of the condemned, and offers eschatological hope: the very intensity of Satan's assault signals his imminent defeat and the coming golden age for Christ's church.