Good Men Described: June 5, 1692

Cotton Mather’s “Good Men Described” and a Quiet Day in SalemWe take you to June 5, 1692, a rare calm Sunday in Salem: the Court of Oyer and Terminer is not in session, and there are no reported afflictions from witch specters. Our focus shifts to Boston, where Governor Phips attends services at the North Church and Cotton Mather delivers his sermon “Good Men Described,” warning that people might sell their souls for “money or frolic” and equating rebellion with the sin of witchcraft. We connect Mather’s call to aspire to sainthood, imitate angels, and resist “following a multitude in the doing of evil” to the growing momentum of accusations during the Salem Witch Trials.00:00 Quiet Sunday in Salem00:18 Salem Witch Trials Daily Intro00:23 Cotton Mather Sermon in Boston00:42 Warning Against Following the Crowd