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Before The First Blow: The Ruffians, the Twelve Craftsmen, and the Choices Made Before the Fall
Paperback
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Aug 14 2026
Pages: 772
Weight: 2.01
Height: 1.91 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Before the First Blow: The Ruffians, the Twelve Craftsmen, and the Choices Made Before the Fall
We remember the three Ruffians.
Jubela. Jubelo. Jubelum.
But before there were three, there were fifteen.
Fifteen craftsmen became involved in a conspiracy. Twelve eventually turned back. Three continued forward. Masonic tradition remembers the terrible consequences of the three who would not stop, yet the twelve who withdrew are often little more than a passing detail.
What if that detail deserves another look?
In Before the First Blow, F Brad Fowler explores the moral space that exists between temptation and action, between wanting something and believing we are entitled to it, and between disagreement with a Brother and the moment we begin treating him as an obstacle.
The three Ruffians become a progression of moral descent:
Jubela: Impatience
I want what I have not yet earned.
Jubelo: Entitlement
I deserve what has not been given to me.
Jubelum: Domination
If I cannot obtain it properly, I will force the issue.
But the story does not belong only to the three.
Using a clearly identified contemplative framework, Fowler pairs the twelve craftsmen who turned back with the Twelve Tribes of Israel and twelve virtues that can interrupt the descent:
Conscience. Restraint. Fidelity. Responsibility. Justice. Liberty. Fortitude. Contentment. Labor. Prudence. Self-Mastery. Vigilance.
Three steps down. Twelve paths back.
From ambition and leadership to Lodge conflict, recognition, factions, resentment, and the courage to admit I was wrong, this book brings an ancient Masonic lesson into the ordinary decisions Brothers face today.
Because the Ruffian is not formed at the third blow.
He is formed through dozens of smaller decisions made before it.
And before the first blow falls, there is still time to turn back.
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