Page 21 - Education Programs

but it is approximately a cube which still requires a considerable amount of "dressing" before the
"perfect Ashlar" which is within it can be brought to light, and the candidate is given him to "knock
off rough knobs and evanescence," of his character.
Later on he finds that, although the common gavel and chisel are suitable for reducing the
roughness they are not capable of achieving perfection. As a Craftsman he receives another set of
working tools, one of which is essential to perfection, namely, the square, and here he learns that
it is only by continual grinding and many applications of the square that the stone can be brought
to a true die, or cube.
In his capacity as a Craftsman and as a man of the world, he is continually coming into contact
with his fellows and he learns to control his passions and to recognize the rights of others, with the
result that the stone he is working upon, namely, his character, is gradually taking shape as a perfect
Ashlar.
Later, he is called upon to hand his stone over to the Builder, who cuts a beveled hole at the top,
so that the stone can be attached to a lewis and be hoisted up ready to be placed on the base assigned
to it by the Builder. Thus, he is reminded that the rope, the lewis, and the crane represent the all
sustaining power of God, and that if he has discharged his duty faithfully and in accordance with
the precepts laid down in the V.S.L., he may rest assured that when his final summons comes he
will find that the great Builder will have prepared a place for him in that "Great Spiritual Temple
not made with hands eternal in the Heavens."
Finally, let us consider this "perfect Ashlar" from a geometric point of view. Looking at the perfect
"Ashlar," as it stands in the Lodge we notice that it has six equal and exactly similar sides, and that
no matter how it is placed down, on the level, it must stand on one of its faces and present a similar
face to the observer, from any point of view. It is the only geometrical body which requires no
support from its fellows, but when placed in line with similar cubes, demands its own space, and
lines up with the others on top, bottom and sides.

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