Why read Magnalia Christi Americana?

The Magnalia is a beautifully written account of the Puritans—an account written by a Puritan himself.  Reading Mather’s work gives us insight on the American Puritan culture from within the culture—not from the perspective of an outsider, but of a man who completely identified himself with the tradition he recorded.  From Mather, we learn why they crossed the Atlantic, their context in history, their major leaders, and interesting events.  These are not just factual accounts, though; they are told in an engaging, purposeful manner that actually ushers us into the Biblically-framed world of early America. If you want to hear from the Puritans themselves about what was important to them and why, then read this work.  Plus, Magnalia is a unique approach to recording history.  It provides an interesting example of faith-inspired history, which can make us consider an important question: How will we present ourselves to posterity?

The Magnalia can be intimidating because it's so long, but it is separated into manageable portions.  The volume I used only contains Books 1 & 2, and I can attest that Magnalia works in segments if one can't tackle the whole history.  What surprised me is its readability.  If I'm trying to race through the book at a modern pace, his details annoy me.  However, when I sank into reading, I found his well-organized prose to be well-flowing, even buoyant.  The use of rich metaphor, Biblical allusions, and addresses to the reader save his writing from being boring.  You can't read Mather without noticing that it is steeped in Biblical language, so modern readers unfamiliar with Scripture, particularly the Old Testament, should use a footnoted edition.  I've also found that reading the Biblical account of the Israelites alongside Puritan texts enriches my reading.

Finally, through the Magnalia we can get to know Cotton Mather, one of the larger-than-life figures in early America.  He was an incredibly productive, brilliant scholar who wrote the immense Magnalia “by Snatches” in little more than two years, during which time he attended to pastoral duties and wrote several other books!  In many ways, he is worth emulating.  Even as he held up the lives of great New England leaders as examples of greatness, we can catch some greatness from Mather himself.