Editorial May 25, 1918 Issue

The Work of Mercy

William P. McKenzie

The affairs of the world will increasingly prosper as there is more general recognition and valuing of the qualities of mind which may be termed womanly, whether manifested by men or by women. Among these qualities is mercy. Animalism cannot apprehend mercy, nor can materialism express it, because mercy in human expression is the reflection of Principle. Always "merciful and gracious" is Principle, God—"His mercy endureth for ever." Moreover Principle is complete, expressing both fatherhood and motherhood, and the mind governed by Principle, and manifesting characteristics which are its "image and likeness" cannot be imperfect, or one-sided, or incomplete. Man, therefore, cannot be a partial thinker but must express all the qualities of God.

One of the most beautiful expressions of womanly mercy and manly courage in the past was the work done in the Crimea by Florence Nightingale. She thoroughly prepared herself for her work and brought out certain qualifications, two of which our Leader speaks in the Manual as being among others necessary (Art. VIII, Sect. 31). Mrs. Eddy says that the nurse must be one "who thoroughly understands the practical wisdom necessary in a sick room, and who can take proper care of the sick." In this latter respect Florence Nightingale was perhaps the best equipped woman of her time, and when she reached the Crimea with the forty nurses who were under her care there was an opportunity to discover the influence and value of woman's work of mercy.

The marvelous increase in the percentage of recoveries of the wounded after her work began showed a great cessation of fear and discouragement. With the coming of a woman actuated by a Christian spirit some new element evidently was brought into effective operation. Hope and faith must have been aroused, and love must have mastered fear, to have brought recovery to so many of the wounded men. What enabled this woman and her assistants to accomplish the results which seem to many unbelievably good? They must have looked to Principle in some way, and found the answer to prayer for guidance in a vision of man as more than flesh and blood.

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On the Topmost Bough
May 25, 1918
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