Cable Tow

A Cable Tow is a rope or line for drawing or leading. Gaedicke says that, "according to the ancient laws of Freemasonry, every brother must attend his Lodge if he is within the length of his cable tow." The old writers define the length of a cable tow, which they sometimes called, "a cable's length," to be three miles for an Entered Apprentice. But the expression is really symbolic and, as it was defined by the Baltimore Convention in 1842, means the scope of a man's reasonable ability. ( Hosea 11:4 )

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Biblical Reference

Hosea 11:4

I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.

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_{This page is adapted from the Glossary at Phoenixmasonry — Used with permission.}