Hammerite Compendiums of Precepts,
Regimens and Rules of Conduct
Vol. 1
When I was cold, Thou taught of
hearth and roof-beam.
When I was hungry, Thou taught
of pot and cauldron.
When I was beset by foes, Thou
taught of spear and shield.
Thy hammer pounds the nail,
holds the roof-beam.
Thy hammer strikes the iron,
shapes the cauldron.
Thy hammer in my hand, unto my
foes."
When the thief did cry to the
master "release me, for I repent, and shall do good all my days" then
did the master strike the thief's hand from him with a blade. And the master said "Go now and do
good, for thy repentance has been paid.""
Thy Builder places thy
challenges before thee as a stairway of hewn stone up the tower of thine
life. When thou seekest to add to those
challenges, to compass thine pride thou dost clutter the design of the
stairway, and introduce cracks and weaknesses through which the Trickster
mayest enter and bring thy ruin.
Thieves respect naught. Divinity, even false divinity, is as the mud
below their feet. They risk not it be
clay, for it shall be shaped by the Builder’s hand.
Our walls be cut from the
thickest stone, our gates be wrought from full iron. Any who pits his strength ‘gainst their strength shall smash
himself with his own effort, even as the fruit falling from the tree dashes
itself on the rock below
A foe is best contested in the
light, not the shadows. Allow none to
so disguise themselves before thee, lest thou slip into the shadows thyself,
and so be lost.
When the Builder walks before
thee and builds for thee a fortress, wilt thou go inside and shut the
door? Or wilt thou say "Yes, and
now I shalt raise one of mine own!"
The stone cannot know why the
chisel cleaves it; the iron cannot know why the fire scorches it. When thy life is cleft and scorched, when
death and despair leap at thee, beat not thy breast and curse thy evil fate,
but thank the Builder for the trials that shape thee
Before death came, the liars
were made to feast upon the hands of the thieves, and the thieves were made to
ingest the tongues of their liar brothers.
And we praised the Master Builder for his judgements.
As thine sword becomes blunt
through lack of maintenance, as does thine soul through the same lack. Repair thine soul as thy wouldst thine sword.
In the beginning we lived as
thieves, stealing fur and fang of beasts for survival. Then came the Builder who brought us the
hammer, and with it we forged a new way of life. To reject the hammer is to denounce the Builder.
The Builder gave thou the raw
stuff of thy life - make thou a great work of it or thou mockest His gifts.
A stone wheel canst both sharpen
thine sword and grind thine flour. Use
thy hammer both for war and for peace.
Thy life is like clay in the
hands of a person. A child doth use it
for spurious purposes, a sinner doth use it for nefarious purposes. Be like a master craftsman, and shape thine
life into an object of consequence.
Thine hammer dost have two sides
it its head and so can strike both ways.
Similarly, thine actions do have two heads, and can affect things thou
didst not aim at.
When thou dost abandon thine
home, the plants do take over it, and endeavour to consume it. Eventually it doth disappear. Do not abandon thine faith, else the
Trickster will consume it and willst make it disappear.
The fire of the candle dost
bring light to darkness, but also destruction to those who use it
carelessly. Use thine faith it
illuminate the darkness, and not to sow the seeds of thine destruction.
A tree nearby a building will
eventually bring it down as the roots spread, unseen, under it. Take care that thou dost not allow the
Trickster to spread his roots in your mind and so bring it down.
A building that is constructed
poorly will collapse, bringing death to those who dwell in it. When thou dost build thine house in they
mind, ensure that it is constructed well to avoid thine death.
The clay beneath thine feet is
soft and uninspiring, as is the straw that doth cover it. When thou dost bind the two, however, thou
canst build thine home to the sky. When
thou dost tutor thine acolyte, think not of what he is, but what he could be
When thou dost raise thine home,
the foundation will affect how the remainder becomes. Thine acolytes must also have a strong foundation upon which you
do build.
Thou dost not leave unguarded
gates in the city walls; thou dost block them or post guards on them. Do the same for the unguarded gates of thine
mind.
Thine life is a great book, upon
which thine deeds are written. Just as
a holy book is holy regardless of its size, so your life must be good
regardless of its age.
Thou hast been given eyes to see
sin, a mouth to speak of it, and hands to correct it. Thou most use all these to eradicate sin, for to use only one is
to mock the Builder’s charity.
Stand thine hammer upright, and
then release it. It willst fall
anywhere on the ground. Place thy hand
by it, and thou canst guide the direction of its fall. Use thine knowledge to control the events
around thee; do not be a mere spectator while the Hammer falls.
If a brick is missing from thine
home, it is of no consequence. If a
beam is missing from thine home, it is of much greater importance. If thou and thine master are threatened, be
as the brick and allow the beam to remain.
Thine home is better than thine
shelter. Thine shelter is better than
thine tree. Thine tree is better than
the plain. Each advancement is
accompanied with increasing sophistication.
It is those who prefer the plain to the home that fear sophistication,
and so fear the Master Builder.
If thou dost encounter a rat,
dost thou kill it or follow it back to its nest and kill the remainder? Before thou dost carry out thine thoughts,
consider the advantages you willst gain from doing the opposite.
Thine word of honour is like a
bond of mortar. Let it not break, even
when the bricks around thee are gone.
What is’t that is more
important; the tapestry as a whole, or the arrangement of one individual
thread? The tapestry is more important,
but is the result of many threads. The
arrangement of one thread can ruin the tapestry. Be not so proud as to neglect the small details, nor so pedantic
as to fail to see the main picture.
Thine home wast not built in a
day, and neither shall thine acolyte’s mind.
Just as thou doth use thine
torch to light the path ahead, and not the path behind, use thine knowledge to
see thine further path, and not the route upon which thou hast already
travelled.
The Trickster is a deity of
nature, who doth lair in the Maw of Chaos, and is the darkest evil. The Master Builder is the greatest good, and
so must dwell in a place of order. Is’t
that thou willst deny him a home in thine mind and in thine temple?
The strong of this world are the
tall, who tower over the short and weak and are able to see beyond them. When thou dost construct thine buildings,
thou must ensure that thou art the strongest of those amongst whom thou
buildst.
Time once past, the harlot did
say to the priest "Tarry a while, and wait upon thy duties" and the
priest did tarry. And then was the
harlot scourged with birch branches, and was the priest crushed beneath the
great gears, for the path of righteousness leads ever upwards, to where it is
perilous to fall.
As a burden is easy to let fall
but hard to pick up, so faith is easy to discard but difficult to gain. However, just as carrying a burden is better
than leaving it on the ground, so carrying thine faith is better than
discarding it.
When thou finds a rat, dost thou
kill it even is it has not stolen food from thou? Nay, thou killest it, and its brethren besides. Similarly, when thou dost encounter a felon
who has not yet done crime, dost thou allow him to pass by?
Hadst I a hammer, wouldst I
hammer in the morning. Wouldst I hammer
in the evening, all over this land."
To use thy chisel is to blunt
its edge 'gainst the stone.
To not use thy chisel is to
waste its edge.
What is a tree but a tower that
withers and dies?
What is a pond but a cistern
that stagnates and fills with muck?
What is a patch of ground but a
road which cracks and washes away?"
Guard thy tongue from falsehood
as thou gardest thy purse from a jackablade.
Guard thy hand from misdeed as thou gardest thy house from
firelighters. Guard thy heart from
doubt as thou gardest thy tools from corrosion, for thy faith and thy tools are
the best that thou hast."
Mortar cannot hold when the
stone is not strong and clean. Before
beginning thy endeavours, look to thy material, both physical and spiritual."
A stroke of thy chisel, once
made, canst not be undone, but a stroke thou dost not make from fear is a worse
flaw. Be not cautious - be correct."
When the Builder came amongst
his children and asked "Who is it that hath spoilt this work?" then
didst his errant son answer "I do not know”. Then didst the Builder cast down his son and smite him with his
hammer. For is it not known that a
mistake may be mastered, but a
lie lasteth forever on the
tongue?"
The proof of the wall is that it
stretcheth above the height of a man, and lasteth beyond the span of a
man. Our greatest works exceed us in
all ways."
A flaw in the gear will fate it
to shatter. A flaw in the beam harbours
the termite. A flaw in a man's
righteousness encompasses his death."