CHAPTER XIII THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE PAST AND THE TASKS AND IDEALS OF THE FUTURE IN the preceding chapters we have followed the development of nursing from the crude, more or less instinctive ministrations of our primi- tive ancestors to the rather highly organized, widely varied, and expert forms of nursing service represented by the profession of nursing General in many countries of the world today. survey of We have seen how the original nursing nursing history impulse has been reinforced from time to time, first by the religious motive and then by such ideals as those of chivalry, and patriotism, of humanitarianism and social reform. We have noted how other powerful forces and movements in political, economic, and social life have acted and reacted on the development of nursing, help- ing to direct its course and modify its character. As we look back at the long procession of de- voted and heroic men and women who have given 329
