During the American Constitutional Convention, just before the convention, there was in Hartford, Conn., one day a storm which overcast the United States, and in that religious day men fell on their knees and begged a final blessing before the end came. The Connecticut House of Representatives was in session and many of the members clamored for immediate adjournment. The speaker of the house, one Colonel Davenport, came to his feet and he silenced the din with these words: "The day of judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish, therefore, that candles may be brought." I hope in a dark and uncertain period in our own country that we, too, may bring candles to help light our country's way.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "During the American Constitutional Convention, just before the convention, there was in Hartford, Conn., one day a storm which overcast the United States, and in that religious day men fell on their knees and begged a final blessing before the end came. The Connecticut House of Representatives was in session and many of the members clamored for immediate adjournment. The speaker of the house, one Colonel Davenport, came to his feet and he silenced the din with these words: "The day of judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish, therefore, that candles may be brought." I hope in a dark and uncertain period in our own country that we, too, may bring candles to help light our country's way." in the context of "Campaign speech of Senator John F. Kennedy, Charlotte, North Carolina (17 September 1960); Kennedy was in error in saying that this was during a storm, as the widespread darkness occurred without any other of the normal signs of stormy weather." to mean that wisdom is timeless.