History of Harvard University

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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III. CHAPTER III. Influence of the Clergy on the College. ? Its catholic Spirit. ? Causes of this traced to the Civil and Ecclesiastical Constitution of the Colony. ? State of Religious Parties, and their Effect. ? Influence of Increase and Cotton Mather on the College and the Colony. ? The Administration of Andros, and its Effect. ? President Mather’s Agency in England. ? His Influence in procuring the Charter of the Colony in 1692, and in the Appointments under it. ? The Witchcraft Delusion. ? The College connected with it by the Mathers. ? State of Parties, which arose in Consequence of that Charter. Chapter The Congregational clergy next demand our notice. To them this institution is perhaps more indebted, than to any other class of men, for early support, if not for existence. Of money and lands, they had little or none, a few of them only excepted. The power which they possessed, they exerted for the College with zeal and affection. They promoted its interests by every instrument of authority, and every legitimate form of influence, at their command. It was the frequent topic of their sermons, and the constant object of their prayers. They were active for it in private solicitation, and urgent in public assemblies. Its founder was a member of their body. Those of them, who had wealth, contributed according to their means, in money or in books. Everywhere they were its unceasing and unwearied advocates. Possessing, at that day, a predominating influence in the Colony, they did not fail to associate the College withthe all-absorbing passions and prejudices of the time. Chapter They denominated it ” the School of the Prophets,” . and identified its success with all the prospects and all the hopes of religion in the Province. Above all, we are, probably, indebt…