--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fathers who contrived and passed the…" description: "\"The fathers who contrived and passed the Consititution were wise in their generation; as time passes, we come more and more to realize their powers of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/learned-hand-5343_divination_the-fathers-who-contrived-and-passed-the_1455371.jpg" --- # The fathers who contrived and passed the Consititution… ![“The fathers who contrived and passed the Consititution were wise in their generation; as time passes, we come more and more to realize their powers of divination.” quote by Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/learned-hand-5343_divination_the-fathers-who-contrived-and-passed-the_1455371.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/learned-hand-5343_divination_the-fathers-who-contrived-and-passed-the_1455371.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/learned-hand-5343_divination_the-fathers-who-contrived-and-passed-the_1455371.jpg) > “The fathers who contrived and passed the Consititution were wise in their generation; as time passes, we come more and more to realize their powers of divination.” [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The founders anticipated future challenges and possessed foresight that becomes clearer over time. **In simple terms:** Founders had foresight that we recognize later. Key Takeaway Appreciate and study original intent. Themes history law wisdom Mood reflective thoughtful Type historical analytical When to use this quote - legal education - policy analysis - civic discourse Key Concepts constitutional foresight generational insight Questions to Reflect On - How does original intent guide today’s laws? - Can foresight be taught? A Different Perspective Modern contexts differ, limiting direct application. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divination/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fathers/) [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [“Several times that day, the name or thought of Papa had come up. And each time, Francie had felt a flash of tenderness instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/several-times-that-day-the-name-or-thought-of-papa-had-come-up-and/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [The more time passes in your life, I think the greater you understand perspective. So I'm happy that I've had experiences that have reminded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-flay/the-more-time-passes-in-your-life-i-think-the-greater-you-understand/) [K. Flay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-flay/) > [“That is how time passes when one is left waiting unaccountably. The hours become interminable. The minutes relentless. And the seconds? Why, not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-is-how-time-passes-when-one-is-left-waiting-unaccountably-the/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“When pain is vivid, when decisions are keen-edged, we believe that we are the surgeons. But time passes, and one sees the whole more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/when-pain-is-vivid-when-decisions-are-keen-edged-we-believe-that-we/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“If you don't want her to go, you should say it. 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There again, time passes all too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-north/in-life-time-can-t-stand-still-and-it-s-unrealistic-to-attempt-to/) [Freya North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-north/) > [If you're just letting the time pass at your job, it's just dead time and you'll never get it back. If at that job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/if-you-re-just-letting-the-time-pass-at-your-job-it-s-just-dead-time/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [The best thing about time passing is the privilege of running out of it, of watching the wave of mortality break over me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/the-best-thing-about-time-passing-is-the-privilege-of-running-out-of/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [And how could we endure to live and let time pass if we were always crying for one day or one year to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-how-could-we-endure-to-live-and-let-time-pass-if-we-were-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Those who grieve frequently find themselves alone. Missed is the laughter of children, the commotion of teenagers, and the tender, loving concern of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/those-who-grieve-frequently-find-themselves-alone-missed-is-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [The good thing about not being drop-dead gorgeous is that as time passes, I don't have much to worry about. I have friends who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/the-good-thing-about-not-being-drop-dead-gorgeous-is-that-as-time/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [When I hear that I realize how quickly time passes and how everybody goes on their journeys and they're always unbelievable and they never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/when-i-hear-that-i-realize-how-quickly-time-passes-and-how-everybody/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [I think men spend so much time passing for being men. There's a sense among many writers of color that the most invisible figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-think-men-spend-so-much-time-passing-for-being-men-there-s-a-sense/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## More by Learned Hand > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [When I say that a thing is true, I mean that I cannot help believing it... But...I do not venture to assume that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/when-i-say-that-a-thing-is-true-i-mean-that-i-cannot-help-believing/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > ['I beseech ye . . . , think that ye may be mistaken.' I should like to have that written over the portals of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/i-beseech-ye-think-that-ye-may-be-mistaken-i-should-like-to-have-that/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [If the prosecution of crime is to be conducted with so little regard for that protection which centuries of English law have given to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/if-the-prosecution-of-crime-is-to-be-conducted-with-so-little-regard/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken." I should like to have that written over the portals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/i-beseech-ye-in-the-bowels-of-christ-think-that-ye-may-be-mistaken-i/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [What seems fair enough against a squalid huckster of bad liquor may take on a different face, if used by government determined to suppress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/what-seems-fair-enough-against-a-squalid-huckster-of-bad-liquor-may/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [The spirit of liberty is the spirit of him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned ... .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/the-spirit-of-liberty-is-the-spirit-of-him-who-near-two-thousand/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [I had rather take my chance that some traitors will escape detection than spread abroad a spirit of general suspicion and distrust, which accepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/i-had-rather-take-my-chance-that-some-traitors-will-escape-detection/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [The successful competitor, having been urged to compete, must not be turned upon when he wins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/the-successful-competitor-having-been-urged-to-compete-must-not-be/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [Words are not pebbles in alien juxtaposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/words-are-not-pebbles-in-alien-juxtaposition/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [It is often hard to secure unanimity about the borders of legislative power, but that is much easier than to decide how far a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/it-is-often-hard-to-secure-unanimity-about-the-borders-of-legislative/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [Each one of us must in the end choose for himself how far he would like to leave our collective fate to the wayward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/each-one-of-us-must-in-the-end-choose-for-himself-how-far-he-would/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [It lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it. While it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/it-lies-in-the-hearts-of-men-and-women-when-it-dies-there-no/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [A self-made man may prefer a self-made name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/a-self-made-man-may-prefer-a-self-made-name/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [No doubt one may quote history to support any cause, as the devil quotes scripture; but modern history is not a very satisfactory side-arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/no-doubt-one-may-quote-history-to-support-any-cause-as-the-devil/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) [Explore all 101 Learned Hand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) ## More Divination quotes > [“Divination is turning out to be much more trouble than I could have foreseen, never having studied the subject myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/divination-is-turning-out-to-be-much-more-trouble-than-i-could-have/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [“Truthfully some of my favorite music can only be heard outside through the natural melodies that live on the tongues of birds, the howl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayesha-ophelia/truthfully-some-of-my-favorite-music-can-only-be-heard-outside/) Ayesha Ophelia > [“I’ve got two Neptunes here,” said Harry after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, “that can’t be right, can it?” “Aaaaah,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/i-ve-got-two-neptunes-here-said-harry-after-a-while-frowning-down-at/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [“The essence of romance is an extremely powerful life-giving sensual force for change. I view the romantic periods in our history as cycles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayesha-ophelia/the-essence-of-romance-is-an-extremely-powerful-life-giving-sensual/) Ayesha Ophelia > [“So, apart from casting runes, what other hobbies do you have? Forbidden rituals, human sacrifices, torturing? –”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simona-panova/so-apart-from-casting-runes-what-other-hobbies-do-you-have-forbidden/) [Simona Panova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simona-panova/) > [“Bibliomancy: "Divination by jolly well Looking It Up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/bibliomancy-divination-by-jolly-well-looking-it-up/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [“Divination is the ketchup of shamanism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/divination-is-the-ketchup-of-shamanism/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [So requisite is the use of Astrology to the Arts of Divination, as it were the Key that opens the door of all their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-cornelius-agrippa/so-requisite-is-the-use-of-astrology-to-the-arts-of-divination-as-it/) [Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-cornelius-agrippa/) > [“I have personally spoken to loved ones on the other side about the process of dying through the song oracle. My Mom sent me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayesha-ophelia/i-have-personally-spoken-to-loved-ones-on-the-other-side-about-the/) Ayesha Ophelia > [All these delusions of Divination have their root and foundation from Astrology. For whether the lineaments of the body, countenance, or hand be inspected,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-cornelius-agrippa/all-these-delusions-of-divination-have-their-root-and-foundation-from/) [Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-cornelius-agrippa/) > [“Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/divination-is-one-of-the-most-imprecise-branches-of-magic-i-shall-not/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [“Divination is a mirror, reflecting what is here and here,” Kezia would tell her, pointing to Nettie’s heart and head. Nettie nodded like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-womack/divination-is-a-mirror-reflecting-what-is-here-and-here-kezia-would/) [Gwendolyn Womack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-womack/) > [“Besides knowing which sacrifices, incantations or magical rituals to perform in order to appease deities or otherwise turn away evil (which could originate from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/besides-knowing-which-sacrifices-incantations-or-magical-rituals-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Always remember the answers come not from the rock, the teacup, the shell, or the cards. The answers come from you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-womack/always-remember-the-answers-come-not-from-the-rock-the-teacup-the/) [Gwendolyn Womack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-womack/) > [“When you need something to be true, you will look for patterns; you connect the dots like the stars of a constellation. Your brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcraney/when-you-need-something-to-be-true-you-will-look-for-patterns-you/) [David McRaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcraney/) [Browse all 41 Divination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The fathers who contrived and passed the Consititution were wise in their generation; as time passes, we come more and more to realize their powers of divination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Learned Hand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/the-fathers-who-contrived-and-passed-the-consititution-were-wise-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Divination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/the-fathers-who-contrived-and-passed-the-consititution-were-wise-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/learned-hand-5343_divination_the-fathers-who-contrived-and-passed-the_1455371.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/learned-hand-5343_divination_the-fathers-who-contrived-and-passed-the_1455371.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/learned-hand-5343_divination_the-fathers-who-contrived-and-passed-the_1455371.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The fathers who contrived and passed the Consititution were wise in their generation; as time passes, we…” — Learned Hand", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Learned Hand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The fathers who contrived and passed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/the-fathers-who-contrived-and-passed-the-consititution-were-wise-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/the-fathers-who-contrived-and-passed-the-consititution-were-wise-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```