Page:A short history of nursing - Lavinia L Dock (1920).djvu/18

2 a wealth of romance and adventure links past and present with a future of greater possibilities. The medical man who has not read medical history works partly in the dark. The nurse or teacher who knows only her own time and surroundings is not only deprived of an unfailing source of interest; she may also be unable to estimate and judge correctly the current events whose tendency is likely to affect her own career. We must know how our work of nursing arose; what lines it has followed and under what direction it has developed best. Possessing this knowledge each one may help to guide and influence its future on the highest lines, and in harmony with its historical mission.

To understand the development of nursing one should know something of the life and events of periods studied. It is important to have a general knowledge of ancient and modern history, for great turning points in world progress, such as, for instance, the fall of Rome, or the crusades, are often also turning points in nursing. Great wars have been especially significant in the growth of nursing as a skilled calling. Thus the larger background sets off the special subject. To gain a good sense of proportion and light on our subject, parallel readings of history are helpful. The status