Gleacius Secundus

Cotton Mather, who was at the time served as a moral advisor for the colonies, wrote an extremely short biography of the life and times of a leading Separatist named William Bradford. In Gleacius Secundus: The Life of William Bradford, Esq., Governor of Plymouth Colony, Mather talks of Bradford and his people as wanderers, forced from their homes, and looking for somewhere to live peacefully. Mather seems to sympathize with the people who had nowhere to go and had great fear of persecution. According to Mather, the people were told they would have safe haven in Holland but arrived too soon which caused the men to be separated from the women. This story seems biblical or even mythological, like The Odyssey. Bradford himself is glorified and his religious background is amplified. Mather writes that Bradford believed Christendom had been deformed and that the reformation had done little to cleanse it. This is when Bradford decided to study the bible, speak out about the wrongs of the church, and meet with others in similar mind. This then led to his voyage to Holland. All of this makes Bradford seem like some sort of prophet who went through great disasters but came out victorious. I think that the stories separation into ten sections is very important but I'm not too sure why he wrote it like this. It seems almost like he was trying to make a factual argument out of Bradford's greatness.