It was the apostle Paul who wrote in his second letter to the youthful
Timothy:
“In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but
also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto
honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto
every good work.”
Paul wrote especially concerning the members of the Lord’s church.
But how wonderfully applicable also are the words to the human stones
which form the structure of the great house of the healing art on earth
today! In it there are doctors and nurses of gold, and doctors and
nurses of silver, doctors and nurses of wood and of earth, and some to
honor and some to dishonor. To purify the great house of healing, to
help to mold it after the similitude of the Mighty Healer, is the object
of “Counsels.”
[4]
In this sordid day, when everything that was once sacred is being
commercialized, when the golden calf is being worshiped on every
hand, there are and ever will be some men and women wistfully long-
ing for the highest ideals that properly belong with a profession second
in sacredness only to the ministry of the word of God. In the hope and
with the simple prayer that this volume may contribute to the purest
and most unselfish profession of medicine, it is now launched upon its
mission.
Percy T. Magan.