--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tomorrow these villagers would carry…" description: "\"Tomorrow these villagers would carry their secret icons into the church without any priest and light the candles themselves, moving together in single-..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/barbara-kingsolver-200_candle_tomorrow-these-villagers-would-carry-the_2400673.jpg" --- # Tomorrow these villagers would carry their secret icons… ![“Tomorrow these villagers would carry their secret icons into the church without any priest and light the candles themselves, moving together in single-minded grace. Like the school of the fish, so driven to righteousness they could flout the law, declare the safety of their souls, then go home and…” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/barbara-kingsolver-200_candle_tomorrow-these-villagers-would-carry-the_2400673.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/barbara-kingsolver-200_candle_tomorrow-these-villagers-would-carry-the_2400673.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/barbara-kingsolver-200_candle_tomorrow-these-villagers-would-carry-the_2400673.jpg) > “Tomorrow these villagers would carry their secret icons into the church without any priest and light the candles themselves, moving together in single-minded grace. Like the school of the fish, so driven to righteousness they could flout the law, declare the safety of their souls, then go home and destroy the evidence.” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes a community's secret, self-reliant worship that defies authority, yet later erases evidence. **In simple terms:** People worship secretly and then hide it. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden faith and its consequences. Themes faith rebellion community Mood reflective critical Type narrative social When to use this quote - church gatherings - underground meetings - cultural preservation - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts ritual secrecy collective identity Questions to Reflect On - Why hide sacred practices? - What does secrecy reveal about power? A Different Perspective Risk of hypocrisy when actions are concealed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Candle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candle/) [Candles Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candles-moving-6011202/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Fishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fishes/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Icons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/icons/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light Candles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-candles-368495/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Righteousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/righteousness/) [Safety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safety/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [Tomorrow Villagers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow-villagers-6011200/) [Villagers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/villagers-528673/) [Villagers Carry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/villagers-carry-6011201/) ## Related quotes > [“Just before six, Bee pulled three wineglasses out of the cabinet and uncorked the bottle of white that Greg had selected for us. 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And a fire, in the fireplace or on the beach,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/i-don-t-know-why-but-the-warmth-and-the-comfort-of-flickering-light/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [I'm a really cheesy romantic I like to light candles and listen to romantic music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greyson-chance/i-m-a-really-cheesy-romantic-i-like-to-light-candles-and-listen-to/) [Greyson Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greyson-chance/) > [If I could just walk around and light the candles with my finger, that would be kind of cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyneth-paltrow/if-i-could-just-walk-around-and-light-the-candles-with-my-finger-that/) [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyneth-paltrow/) > [I love Hanukkah because it's so weird. You just sit there and light candles and say spells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-tuff/i-love-hanukkah-because-it-s-so-weird-you-just-sit-there-and-light/) [King Tuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-tuff/) > [“Tonight I light the candles for all the souls who were merely pawns in the game we call rules of engagement and everything remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nynke-visser/tonight-i-light-the-candles-for-all-the-souls-who-were-merely-pawns/) [Nynke Visser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nynke-visser/) > [It's ok to light the candles on your birthday cake now; I've already alerted the fire department.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-ok-to-light-the-candles-on-your-birthday-cake-now-i-ve-already/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I light candles because I want to have candles lit, not because I need to see!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/i-light-candles-because-i-want-to-have-candles-lit-not-because-i-need/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [It’s odd, isn’t it? People die every day and the world goes on like nothing happened. But when it’s a person you love, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-mcmorris/it-s-odd-isn-t-it-people-die-every-day-and-the-world-goes-on-like/) [Kristina McMorris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristina-mcmorris/) > [“Traveling is all very well if you can get home at night. I would be willing to go around the world if I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-taber/traveling-is-all-very-well-if-you-can-get-home-at-night-i-would-be-2/) [Gladys Taber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-taber/) > [“She would rather light candles than curse the darkness and her glow has warmed the world. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson/she-would-rather-light-candles-than-curse-the-darkness-and-her-glow/) [Adlai E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson/) > [Only a candle that is lit and shining can give light to other candles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/only-a-candle-that-is-lit-and-shining-can-give-light-to-other-candles/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Traveling is all very well if you can get home at night. I would be willing to go around the world if I came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-taber/traveling-is-all-very-well-if-you-can-get-home-at-night-i-would-be/) [Gladys Taber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-taber/) > [As a single candle has the ability to light many more candles, may we continue to illuminate the lives of those around us. Happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-a-single-candle-has-the-ability-to-light-many-more-candles-may-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Candle quotes > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I still get nervous about singing. I drink tea with honey and lemon before every concert. And I need to have scented candles in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/i-still-get-nervous-about-singing-i-drink-tea-with-honey-and-lemon/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [On Hanukkah, the first dark night, Light yourself a candle bright. I'll you, if you will me invite To dance within that gentle light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-gordon/on-hanukkah-the-first-dark-night-light-yourself-a-candle-bright-i-ll/) [Nick Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-gordon/) > [I try to be the clown and court jester and make people laugh. At the same time, you have people in the hospital who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simmons/i-try-to-be-the-clown-and-court-jester-and-make-people-laugh-at-the/) [Richard Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simmons/) > [Only by the candle, held in the skeleton hand of Poverty, can man read his own dark heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/only-by-the-candle-held-in-the-skeleton-hand-of-poverty-can-man-read/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [Traveling is all very well if you can get home at night. I would be willing to go around the world if I came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-taber/traveling-is-all-very-well-if-you-can-get-home-at-night-i-would-be/) [Gladys Taber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-taber/) > [Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, first fill your own house with the fragrance of love. Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/go-not-to-the-temple-to-put-flowers-upon-the-feet-of-god-first-fill/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Two ways to be a light for all, is to be a flaming candle or the mirror that reflects it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/two-ways-to-be-a-light-for-all-is-to-be-a-flaming-candle-or-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Some will see your flame and want to blow it out...others will approach with a candle...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenita-vangellis/some-will-see-your-flame-and-want-to-blow-it-out-others-will-approach/) [Lenita Vangellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenita-vangellis/) > [So here I sit in the early candle-light of old age-I and my book-casting backward glances over out travel'd road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/so-here-i-sit-in-the-early-candle-light-of-old-age-i-and-my-book/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I was eating beans by candle light for a decade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-andre/i-was-eating-beans-by-candle-light-for-a-decade/) [Eric Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-andre/) > [The stars begin to fade like guttering candles and are snuffed out one by one. Out in the depths of space the great celestial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-robert-harrison/the-stars-begin-to-fade-like-guttering-candles-and-are-snuffed-out/) [Edward Robert Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-robert-harrison/) [Browse all 1,033 Candle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Tomorrow these villagers would carry their secret icons into the church without any priest and light the candles themselves, moving together in single-minded grace. 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