It is always darkest just before the day dawneth.

This proverb-like line is commonly attributed to the English churchman and writer Thomas Fuller and is usually linked to his mid-17th-century moral and devotional writing, where he often framed practical counsel in memorable aphorisms. The saying draws on an everyday observation about night and sunrise to offer reassurance in adversity: the moment of greatest gloom may coincide with the approach of relief. Although widely repeated in later centuries as a general maxim of encouragement, pinning it to a specific occasion in Fuller’s life (a sermon, letter, or dated remark) is difficult, and many modern uses circulate without a precise citation.

The saying uses the transition from night to morning as a metaphor for human experience: moments of greatest difficulty can occur immediately before improvement or relief. It encourages perseverance by suggesting that despair may be a sign that change is near, not that hope is futile. The archaic “dawneth” gives the line a scriptural or sermonic cadence, reinforcing its function as counsel rather than mere observation. As a proverb, it has been applied broadly—from personal hardship to political crises—because it offers a psychologically potent reframing of suffering as potentially temporary and meaningful.

“It is always darkest before the dawn.”; “The darkest hour is just before the dawn.”; “It’s always darkest just before dawn.”