3 Florence Nightingale Quotes on Work

Florence Nightingale quotes on work

32. Women are never supposed to have any occupation of sufficient importance not to be interrupted, except 'suckling their fools '; and women themselves have accepted this, have written books to support it, and have trained themselves so as to consider whatever they do as not of such value to the world or to others, but that they can throw it up at the first 'claim of social life.' They have accustomed themselves to consider intellectual occupation as a merely selfish amusement, which it is their ' duty ' to give up for every trifler more selfish than themselves.

44. Men and women meet now to be idle. Is it extraordinary that they do not know each other, and that, in their mutual ignorance, they form no surer friendships? Did they meet to do something together, then indeed they might form some real tie. But, as it is, they are not there, it is only a mask which is there - a mouth-piece of ready-made sentences about the 'topics of the day'; and then people rail against men for choosing a woman 'for her face' - why, what else do they see?

52. The time is come when women must do something more than the 'domestic hearth,' which means nursing the infants, keeping a pretty house, having a good dinner and an entertaining party.