Cotton Mather's Rule To Do Good
Illustration★★★★Dr. Cotton Mather, at the age of sixteen, adopted the maxim, “ An opportunity to do good implies the positive duty to do it,” and made it his rule in every relation of a long and well spent life. After he had attained to man’s estate, he imposed on himself a rule never to enter any company where it was proper for him to speak without endeavoring to be useful in it; dropping, as opportunities might offer, some instructive hint or admonition.
By way of improving every moment of his time, he avoided paying or receiving unnecessary visits. No day passed without some contrivance on his part “to do good,” nor without his being able to say at the close of it, that some part of his income had been distributed for purposes of charity.
The point
Cotton Mather's lifelong rule was to seize every opportunity to do good, believing that the chance to help itself creates the duty to act.