Page:A short history of nursing - Lavinia L Dock (1920).djvu/350

334 334 A Short History of Nursing the one hand, or an unskilled form of manual labour on the other. The art of nursing has still marvellous unde- veloped possibilities, especially the more difficult and delicate art of nursing sick minds and spirits as well as sick bodies. The science of nursing is still in its earliest infancy and even our present knowledge is very imperfectly grasped and applied by the majority of those who practise nursing. We have a great task here in perfecting our art and building up our body of knowledge, but though it is impossible to lay too much emphasis on these things, we must never overlook the fact that the root and spring of all good nursing is still as ever the inborn nursing instinct, with its eager spirit of service, its deep human interest, and its warm and spontaneous sympathy. Without this living spirit and this motive force all our science and skill would be futile. In this sense the nurse may still be said to be born to her calling, though we know that she must also be trained to it. Although generally accepted as one of the newer professions, there is still some difference of opinion Nursing as a ^s to whether nursing is entitled to full profession professional rank. The older profes- sions of law, divinity, and medicine gained this distinction because of the recognized value of their