. The Oxford English Dictionary cites a number of 'special combinations' with the word "cable," for example: "cable-rope;" "cable-stock;" "cable-range;" and several others, but it doesn't mention "cable-tow." In fact, the term is not known outside of Freemasonry. So, what, actually, is a Cabletow? The Ashley Encyclopaedia of Knots describes a cable as "three plain or hawser laid ropes, laid up together left-handed." When you look at a piece of rope, the individual strands spiral to the right. This kind of rope is called a "hawser" and a cable is three of them twisted so that they spiral to the left. A rope like this is rarely less than 10 inches in circumference and, usually, is more. It's most often used for moving heavy objects, for example, a ship. From such uses, it became a "towing rope" which became shortened, colloquially, to a "tow."

Further, the earliest allusion to a rope as a piece of equipment used in the preparation of a Masonic candidate is in a document dated to about 1710 - well within the "speculative" era. Even then, it was not described as a "Cabletow" for another fifty years, or so. All this suggests to me that the expression was introduced to Freemasonry's vocabulary by the Speculative Masons as they gradually but steadily clothed the Speculative Science with the symbols and terminology of the stone-cutters. This is not to say that the Speculatives invented the idea. On the contrary, the halter, in the preparation of initiatives, AND as a token of submission, has a history that goes back almost as far as records have been kept. ANCIENT USE IN THE PREPARATION OF INITIATIVES

THE CABLETOW IN FREEMASONRY The halter's first appearance in Freemasonry is in a document known as the DUMFRIES No. 4 MANUSCRIPT which dates to about 1710. The reference is in two questions in the catechism: Q: Hou were you brought in A: Shamefully wt a rope about my neck Q: Whay a rop about your neck A: To hang me if I should Betry my trust We may note, in passing, that the penalty for improper disclosure at the dawn of the Grand Lodge era was quite different from ours. But, in terms of our subject of interest, if the Fraternity could assume the right to hang a man for improper disclosure, if it were able to take a member's life, it could only do so - then, as now - if the member gave that right! And so, the Cabletow still retained its symbolism as a token of submission. As far as I am aware, the Cabletow is part of the preparation of every Freemason in the world and in every ritual it carries a connotation of submission, of humility, of servitude.

The rituals of the modern lodges all show a practical use for the halter: to lead an "untouchable" failure out of the Lodge or to restrain an impetuous candidate.... Even in the early ritual document cited earlier, it was the practical means of carrying out the penalty of the obligation. However, none of these uses resembles the purpose of the item of builders' equipment which gave its name to Freemasonry's halter. And this very disparity should lead us to suspect that Freemasonry's Cabletow has a symbolic, rather than a practical, meaning - that and our own knowledge that the Gentle Craft excels, as no other organization, in loading the most ordinary objects with esoteric meaning. I asked you earlier to note a point - the number of times the Cabletow was wrapped around a certain part of the body. In the Fellowcraft and Master Mason's examinations of the Ancient York Rite, the answers to the Cabletow questions are definitely symbolic. The Cabletow and the number of times it is wrapped are said to indicate the increase in responsibility concomittment with Masonic progress.

What on earth is the length of a Cabletow? This concept is a modern survival of one of the oldest Operative regulations which obliged the stonecutters to attend the annual "Assemblies" except when sick or "in peril of death." No Cabletow was mentioned then, of course, but from this requirement grew the expectation that every brother would attend his lodge if he was within three miles of the meeting place. Presumable this was as far as he could be expected to walk, but the several copies of the Old Charges in existence differ wildly on this distance and variations between three and fifty miles are not uncommon! Nowadays it is accepted that this obligation is simply a promise to attend if within one's ability and no specific distance is involved. But - here is a meaning within a meaning - the length of my Cabletow can be regarded as a symbol of the binding covenant I have made. And part of this covenant is a pledge to assist others.a In this respect, the length of my Cabletow depends on my ability - and willingness - to fulfill my obligations and I must decide that length for myself. Measurement of service can never be subject to any externally imposed limitation for who else can decide the length of my spiritual ties? How long is my Cabletow? It's as long as I want it to be!

Condensed from an article by                                                               

Bro. John Alexander

"Our cable-tow is not something to restrain or hold us back, but rather that strong tie which induces us and enables us to reach out and help our brethren when they are in need or in distress. It is like the tow line at sea which enables one ship to pull another into harbor when, after some unfortunate accident, it is likely to flounder or drift into the rocky shore. A lifeline that is not measured by feet or rods or miles, but by goodwill and willingness and ability to reach out to the brother who needs our assistance and support. That is the cable-tow of masonry and that is the measure by which we should judge its length. No one can measure it except yourself. It will be as long or as short as your concept of life, with all its blessings and responsibilities. "

Written by V.W.Bro. Harold W. Hughes GROnt.1957