Florence Nightingale

"Were there no work, there would be no dignity."

"The very foundation of beauty is truth."

"To serve humanity is to touch the divine."

"The true art of living is to know when to act and when to rest."

"The sick need not sympathy but skillful care and knowledge."

"Were women to have education, they would change the world."

"The very first principle of morality is to do no harm."

"The world improves not through wishes but through determined action."

"The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm."

"To understand God's thoughts, we must study statistics, for these are the measure of His purpose."

"Nursing is an art; and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion hard as would be required for a painter or sculptor."

"Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better."

"The true foundation of theology is to ascertain the character of God. It is by the aid of Statistics that law in the social sphere can be ascertained and codified."

"Hospitals are only an intermediate stage of civilization."

"I think one's feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions, and into actions which bring results."

"The very first requirement is cleanliness of air, water, and of the most scrupulous personal cleanliness."

"Kind words are worth much and cost little."

"Live your life as if you were going to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were going to live forever."

"The body is important, but we must not neglect the care and cultivation of the mind."

"Infection is a process, a natural consequence of certain conditions; and it is the business of the nurse to know and practice the means of preventing it."

"Man and woman have been called the masterpieces of creation; there is something fine about humanity."

"Is life not a hundred times too short to bore ourselves?"

"I attribute my success to this—I never gave or took any excuse."

"The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm."

"To be a nurse, one must have a calling, a sense of purpose beyond oneself."

"The nurse is there to put the patient in the best condition for nature to act upon him."

"Energy and persistence conquer all things."

"One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life."

"Nursing is a progressive calling; it should keep pace with the most advanced thought and science."

"The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm, and the very first essential to a nurse is knowing how to observe."