The Legend of Hiam Abif
“Fifteen Fellow Crafts, of that superior class appointed to preside over the rest, finding that the work was nearly completed and that they were not in possession of the secrets of the Third Degree, conspired to obtain them by any means, even to have recourse to violence. At the moment, however, of carrying their conspiracy into execution, twelve of the fifteen recanted; but three, of a more determined and atrocious character than the rest, persisted in their impious design, in the prosecution of which they planted themselves respectively at the East, North, and South entrances of the Temple, whither our Master had retired to pay his adoration to the Most High, as was his wonted custom at the hour of high twelve.
Having finished his devotions, he attempted to return by the South entrance, where he was opposed by the first of those ruffians, who, for want of other weapon, had armed himself with a heavy Plumb Rule, and in a threatening manner demanded the secrets of a Master Mason, warning him that death would be the consequence of a refusal. Our Master, true to his Obligation, answered that those secrets were known to but three in the world and that without the consent and co-operation of the other two he neither could nor would divulge them, but intimated that he had no doubt patience and industry would, in due time, entitle the worthy Mason to a participation of them, but that, for his own part, he would rather suffer death than betray the sacred trust reposed in him. This answer not proving satisfactory, the ruffian aimed a violent blow at the head of our Master; but being startled at the firmness of his demeanour, it missed his forehead and only glanced on his right temple but with such force as to cause him to reel and sink on his left knee.
Recovering from the shock he made for the North entrance where he was accosted by the second of those ruffians, to whom he gave a similar answer with undiminished firmness, when the ruffian, who was armed with a Level struck him a violent blow on the left temple which brought him to the ground on his right knee.
Finding his retreat cut off at both those points, he staggered, faint and bleeding, to the East entrance where the third ruffian was posted, who received a similar answer to his insolent demand, for even at this trying moment our Master remained firm and unshaken, when the villain, who was armed with a heavy Maul, struck him a violent blow on the forehead which laid him lifeless at his feet.”
A Comment on the Third Degree
There is little evidence that the Third Degree is any older than 300 years old. The first recorded mention is dated 1723 – but the Hiramic Legend, it seems, is much older than we realize. The Graham Manuscript, records events of the thirteenth century and mentions similar legends but connected with Noah and Bezalel.
There are those that postulate that the Hiramic Legend is derived from a Phoenician interpretation of the Egyptian legend of Isis and Osiris and was brought to England many centuries later by the Crusaders. If true, it then remained suppressed, because of the domination of Masonry by the Church of Rome, which could not be expected to accept anything emanating from the Jews, whom they intensely hated for the crucifixion of their Lord Jesus Christ which according to the bible itself was authorised by Roman hierarchy and carried out by Roman Soldiers. According to this line of argument, the legend saw daylight only as the domination of the Church waned; but there is, of course, no proof of this, even if it does sound feasible. Nevertheless, the Hiramic Legend is woven into the very fabric of our masonic ritual, and the following commentary is designed to implant a significant thought in each of our minds, for we have, all of us, passed through the great Masonic ordeal:
“During the ceremony of the Third Degree, so well named the Sublime Degree, you can hardly fail to have been impressed by the tragedy of Hiram Abif. Superbly effective as a delivered performance, it certainly leaves its mark on the enquiring mind. However, to understand and to appreciate it to the full, its profound richness of meaning only becomes clear when you take it upon yourself to learn the ritual and absorb its underlying message into your psyche. It then becomes something that will remain with you as long as you live.
Since the drama of Hiram Abif is ritualistic, it is a mistake to consider it ‘historical’. A ritualistic drama pays no heed to historical individuals, times or places. It exists wholly in the realm of the spirit. The clash of forces, the crises and fates of the human spirit alone enter into it, and they hold true of all men everywhere, regardless of who they are or when or where. There was a Hiram Abif in biblical history, but our Third Degree is little interested in him as an individual. Its sole concern is with a Hiram who is a symbol of the human soul, that is, its own Hiram Abif. If, therefore, your researches have led you to the troubled conclusion that the events of the drama could not possibly have happened, you can be calmed. It is not inferring that they ever happened some time back in ancient history, but simply that they are symbols of what is happening in the life of every man, every day.
For the same reason it is a mistake to treat it as a mere mock tragedy. Savage peoples throughout history have employed initiation ceremonies as an ordeal to test the nerve and courage of their young warriors, but Freemasonry is not savage. Boys at school often employ ragging, or ‘horseplay’ a caricature of the savage, ceremonial ordeals, but nor is Freemasonry juvenile. The exemplification of our ritualistic drama is sincere, it’s solemn and it’s earnest. He who considers it trivially, betrays a shallowness of spirit, and must cause him to reconsider his place in our organisation.
Hiram Abif is the actual symbol of the human soul, yours, mine, in fact any man’s. The work he was engaged to supervise is but a symbol of the work that you and I have in the supervision, the organization and the direction of our lives from birth through to to death. The enemies he met are none other than the symbols of those lusts and passions, which live deep within our own breasts, and make terror on our character and war on our life. His fate is the same fate that befalls every man who becomes a victim to those enemies: to be interrupted in one’s work, to be pared from the mastery of one’s own self and, come our end, to become lost beneath all manner of detritus, which indicates defeat, disgrace, misery and scorn. The manner in which Hiram was raised from that state of death to that living perpendicular once again is the same manner by which any man, rises from self-defeat to self-mastery. And the Great Architect, by the power of whose word Hiram Abif was raised, is that same God, YOUR God in whose capable arms we place our faith, and whose mighty help we also call upon to raise us out of the graves of defeat, of evil, or of death itself.
Did you ever wonder, while taking part in that drama as ‘candidate’, why you were personally made to participate in it? Why you were not permitted to sit as a spectator?
You were made to participate in order to impress upon your mind that it was your drama, not another’s being exemplified. No man can be a mere spectator of that drama, because it takes place deep within his own soul. Likewise it was intended that your participation should itself be an experience to prepare you for becoming a Master Mason, by teaching you the secret of the degree – which is that the soul must rise above its own internal enemies if ever a man is to be a ‘Master’ of one’s environment as well as one’s soul. The reality of being a Master Mason is nothing other than to become a Master of one’s own self.
“Did you wonder why it was that the three ruffians came from within Hiram’s own circle, and not from outside? They were obligated Fellow Craft Freemasons. It is because the enemy to be most feared is always from within, and can be ignorance and sin. As the Sacred Volume reminds us, it is not that which has power to kill the body that we need to fear, but that which has the power to destroy the spirit.
“Did you wonder why it was that after Hiram Abif was slain there was so much ‘utter confusion’ in the Temple? It was because the Temple is the symbol of a man’s character, and therefore breaks and falls when the soul, its architect, is rendered helpless, because the craftsmen are symbols of our powers, and they fall in anarchy when not directed and commanded by the will at the centre of our being.
“And did you wonder why the Lodge appeared to neglect to explain this ritualistic drama to you at the end of the Degree? It was because it is impossible for one man to explain the tragedy of Hiram Abif to another. Each of us must learn for ourself, and the most we can obtain from others is just such hints and scattered suggestions as these now presented to you. Imprint the story of Hiram Abif upon your minds, ponder upon it; when you yourself are at grips with your enemies and recall it and act according to the light you find within. By doing so you will derive strength from your inner-self learned from the firsthand experience that the drama taught you in the form of ritual. You will be wiser and stronger for following that light which is from above.”
