Page:A short history of nursing - Lavinia L Dock (1920).djvu/21

Rh impulse or motive prompting one to care for those who are suffering or helpless. The maternal or parental instinct is the main source of this impulse, and it is found in human beings of all races and ages, and of both sexes, though it is generally held that women as a rule are more largely endowed with it than men. It is the original conservation instinct, and from it grew that care for a whole species which we call the instinct of race preservation, and which is so clearly and interestingly proved by the habits of birds and many animals. In its fullest development this motive produced altruism or humanitarianism, those noble forms of love and kindness which, ignoring boundaries, include all human beings in their scope, and extend mercy and good treatment to animals. In the exercise of these qualities men, as all history shows, have given the world some perfect examples of what the human race may become. This main motive, re-enforced as it has been at different epochs by religious fervour, love of country, and other compelling forces, has, in all ages, led people to lives of service and self-sacrifice for the sake of others. This spirit is essential. Then a certain degree of skill and expertness must be attained. Without this, love and care alone