Some Poor Candle of the Sixteens

[greenbaggins]

I have come across this extraordinarily obscure phrase in Joseph Caryl's Job commentary (volume 4, p. 186), and I cannot make heads or tails of this phrase. In context, it reads like this (it is commentary on Job 12:5-6): "Thou tellest me that a godly man shall be brighter than the sun at noon, that his brightness shall increase like the morning sun, more and more unto the perfect day; whereas, alas, I see all the light which many a godly man hath, no bigger than a candle or a lamp, and that not like the light of a great candle neither, or of a goodly beautiful lamp, but like the light of some poor candle of the sixteens, or of the meanest lamp."

I have already looked up "sixteens" and "candle" in the OED, and no help there. There doesn't appear to be an online dictionary of archaic phrases, but if anyone can help me out here, I would appreciate it. The basic meaning is clear enough in meaning some kind of light that is not very bright. It has the feel of a period idiomatic expression. It seems unlikely to me to refer to a kind of service of a coming of age at sixteen, as some websites have propounded.

 

[Northern Crofter]

I have come across this extraordinarily obscure phrase in Joseph Caryl's Job commentary (volume 4, p. 186), and I cannot make heads or tails of this phrase. In context, it reads like this (it is commentary on Job 12:5-6): "Thou tellest me that a godly man shall be brighter than the sun at noon, that his brightness shall increase like the morning sun, more and more unto the perfect day; whereas, alas, I see all the light which many a godly man hath, no bigger than a candle or a lamp, and that not like the light of a great candle neither, or of a goodly beautiful lamp, but like the light of some poor candle of the sixteens, or of the meanest lamp."

I have already looked up "sixteens" and "candle" in the OED, and no help there. There doesn't appear to be an online dictionary of archaic phrases, but if anyone can help me out here, I would appreciate it. The basic meaning is clear enough in meaning some kind of light that is not very bright. It has the feel of a period idiomatic expression. It seems unlikely to me to refer to a kind of service of a coming of age at sixteen, as some websites have propounded.

Maybe a reference to one candle in a 16-arm candelabra - one that is not bright by itself but only in concert with others. Maybe someone with more architectural acumen can find out if a place well-known by Caryl and his contemporaries (like Westminster Abbey or one of the smaller rooms used by the Assembly) had such lighting.

 

[NaphtaliPress]

Does it relate to the Order of the Sixteens or Court of the Sixteens or Court of Sixteens? I'm not sure how either functioned but it comes up on google; nor how it relates to candles.

 

[greenbaggins]

The context doesn't point in any other direction but a "low light" situation. Now, I suppose it is possible that some organization has a rite that uses very low candle power as part of its process. I wouldn't even know where to start looking, though.

 

[Phil D.]

This article might provide a clue. It seems candles were sometimes referred to by how many it took to make a pound. So "sixteens" were a reference to a 1oz. candle (or perhaps even a little smaller, as a mercantile pound in centuries past was about the equivalent of 15 oz.). That would seem to fit the context, since a 1 oz. candle would be quite small and give off relatively little light.

Edit: this advertisement from 1879 denotes "fours" "sixes" "sevens" "eights" and "sixteens," with the latter apparently being the smallest readily available size.

 

[greenbaggins]

This article might provide a clue. It seems candles were sometimes referred to by how many it took to make a pound. So "sixteens" were a reference to a 1oz. candle (or perhaps even a little smaller, as a mercantile pound in centuries past was about the equivalent of 15 oz.). That would seem to fit the context, since a 1 oz. candle would be quite small and give off relatively little light.

Edit: this advertisement from 1879 denotes "fours" "sixes" "sevens" "eights" and "sixteens," with the latter apparently being the smallest readily available size.

Thanks very much, Phil. This sounds right to me.

 

[No Other Name]