Symbols endure because they bridge the temporal and the eternal, the practical and the moral. Among the most enduring of such symbols is the image of the stone — whether as clay in the hands of the potter, a cornerstone set by builders, or the ashlar refined by the mason. In the Bible, clay and stone serve as metaphors for human character and divine judgment. In medieval manuscripts such as the Regius (c. 1390) and Cooke (c. 1410–1425), stones “hewn true” appear as models of faithful craftsmanship and ethical conduct. In speculative Freemasonry, beginning in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the rough and perfect ashlar became central symbols of moral refinement, representing man’s journey from natural imperfection to virtuous completion.
This essay traces the evolution of this symbol from biblical foundations, through patristic and medieval theology, into operative masonry and the Old Charges, culminating in its enduring place in Masonic philosophy. The metaphor of the ashlar illustrates not only the history of craftsmanship but also humanity’s continual aspiration to be shaped, measured, and found true according to both divine and moral standards.
Biblical Foundations: Clay, Stone, and Plumbline
The earliest foundation for the ashlar metaphor lies in the Hebrew Bible. Isaiah 64:8 declares: “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand” (King James Version). Here, humanity is depicted as raw material awaiting divine formation. The metaphor emphasizes dependency on God’s shaping hand, paralleling the later Masonic image of the rough stone awaiting refinement.
The stone itself is another recurring biblical image. In Exodus 20:25, Israel is commanded to build altars only with unhewn stones, for the application of a tool would pollute them. Similarly, in 1 Kings 6:7, the Temple of Solomon is described as being constructed of stones made ready in the quarry, so that no tool was heard in the house during construction. These passages reflect a duality: stone in its natural state is pure, but stone properly prepared beforehand becomes worthy for sacred use.
The cornerstone motif deepens the metaphor. Psalm 118:22, later echoed in Matthew 21:42, proclaims: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” The cornerstone represents Christ, rejected but ultimately the foundation of the spiritual temple. The measurement of truth and alignment emerges fully in the prophetic vision of Amos. In Amos 7:7–8, the prophet records: “Behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.” God announces that He will set a plumbline in the midst of Israel, signifying judgment by a divine standard. Just as walls must be plumb to stand, so too must human lives be measured against God’s righteousness.
These biblical images—clay shaped by the potter, stone prepared for the temple, the cornerstone, and the plumbline—anticipate the later Masonic use of the ashlar. Together they establish a theological foundation in which material construction mirrors moral and spiritual construction.
Early Christian and Patristic Writings
The early Church Fathers developed these metaphors. Origen and Augustine interpreted passages about stones and building allegorically, presenting believers as “living stones” joined to Christ, the cornerstone (1 Peter 2:5). Augustine, in City of God, described the faithful as stones shaped for the heavenly Jerusalem, contrasting them with the rough stones of earthly pride. John Chrysostom likewise emphasized the alignment of Christian lives to divine measure, drawing on imagery familiar to builders of his age.
These patristic interpretations preserve the biblical imagery and extend it. The stone becomes not merely a building material but a moral and spiritual reality. Just as masonry required true stones to create enduring walls, the Church required believers morally shaped and tested against divine standards.
Medieval Theology and the Culture of Building
During the Middle Ages, metaphors of stone and building proliferated, especially within monastic and scholastic traditions. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) often spoke of the soul being built upon stones of virtue, aligned with Christ the cornerstone. For Bernard, each act of discipline, prayer, or service was a chiseling act, transforming rough humanity into a polished fitment for God’s house.
Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) advanced the philosophical side of this metaphor. In the Summa Theologiae, he described virtue as a “mean” or measure of human action, aligning conduct with divine reason. Though he did not speak of ashlar, his emphasis on proportion and rectitude resonates with the imagery of a stone squared, plumb, and fit for building. In this intellectual framework, being “true” meant being rightly measured in accordance with eternal law.
The medieval cathedral builders embodied these principles materially. The great Gothic cathedrals of Europe required thousands of stones, each carefully squared and aligned. The mason’s daily craft of hewing rough stones into smooth ashlars was itself an allegory of spiritual refinement, visible to the entire community. It is not accidental that the guilds of masons preserved both practical and moral codes, which later evolved into the Old Charges.
The Old Charges of Masonry: Regius and Cooke Manuscripts
The earliest extant Masonic documents, the Regius Manuscript (c. 1390) and the Cooke Manuscript (c. 1410–1425), transmit operative rules and moral obligations for masons. While neither explicitly mentions the word “ashlar,” they repeatedly refer to stones that must be “well and truly hewn.”
The Regius Manuscript emphasizes moral character alongside skill, urging masons to love God, be true to their craft, and live honestly. Its insistence on “stones full good” suggests that physical stones served as symbols of moral rectitude. The Cooke Manuscript similarly balances geometry and ethics, teaching masons to be “true” both in work and in life.
These manuscripts show the operative origin of later speculative symbolism. Just as a wall built of poorly hewn stones could not stand, so too a society built upon men lacking virtue would collapse. The mason’s stone became an emblem for the mason himself.
Transition to Speculative Masonry
By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as Freemasonry transformed from an operative guild into a speculative fraternity, the stone metaphor crystallized in the form of the ashlar. William Preston’s Illustrations of Masonry (1772) codified the Rough and Perfect Ashlar as two of the “movable jewels of the lodge.” The Rough Ashlar symbolized man in his natural state, while the Perfect Ashlar symbolized man improved through discipline, education, and Masonic instruction.
Thomas Smith Webb’s Freemason’s Monitor (1797) carried this symbolism into American lodges, where it remains standard. Albert Mackey later summarized in his Encyclopedia of Freemasonry that the ashlar, in both forms, “is a symbol of man’s moral and spiritual progress.”
The ashlar thus preserved the operative concern with stones hewn true while fully adopting the biblical and theological dimensions of moral rectitude and divine measurement. The mason became the stone, and the tools of the craft became instruments of virtue.
Modern Masonic and Moral Language
Today, the ashlar continues to serve as a vivid emblem in Freemasonry. Every Entered Apprentice is taught to contemplate the Rough and Perfect Ashlar as symbols of his own moral progress. Lodge rooms often display physical examples of both, connecting modern Masons with their operative predecessors.
The symbolism also extends beyond Freemasonry into common culture. The phrase “rough diamond” reflects the same idea of hidden potential awaiting refinement. Michelangelo’s famous remark, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free,” parallels the mason’s labor upon the rough ashlar. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s insistence that man is a fragment until formed by virtue likewise echoes this imagery.
The biblical plumbline also finds renewed resonance in modern Freemasonry. The plumb, square, and level remain essential working tools, all serving as measures of truth and rectitude. The Perfect Ashlar, when tested by these tools, becomes the emblem of a man aligned not only with his fellows but also with the divine standard of uprightness.
Conclusion
From the clay of Isaiah to the plumbline of Amos, from the stones of Solomon’s Temple to the true stones of the Old Charges, and from the Rough and Perfect Ashlar of speculative Masonry to modern moral philosophy, the symbol of the stone traces a continuous thread through Western thought. It reflects humanity’s self-understanding as unfinished, in need of shaping, alignment, and refinement.
The ashlar thus stands as more than a piece of building material. It is a moral emblem, a reminder that every man begins rough but may, through discipline and divine guidance, be made true and perfect, fit for the eternal temple.
References
Aquinas, T. (1947). Summa Theologica (Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Trans.). Benziger Bros.
Augustine. (2003). The City of God (H. Bettenson, Trans.). Penguin Classics.
Bernard of Clairvaux. (1970). On the Song of Songs I (K. Walsh, Trans.). Cistercian Publications.
Chrysostom, J. (1889). Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew (P. Schaff, Ed.). Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 10. Christian Literature Publishing Co.
King James Bible. (1611/2017). The Holy Bible, King James Version. Hendrickson Publishers.
Mackey, A. G. (1874). An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences. Lippincott.
Origen. (1956). On First Principles (G. W. Butterworth, Trans.). Harper & Row.
Preston, W. (1772). Illustrations of Masonry. London.
The Regius Manuscript (c. 1390). In Douglas Knoop, G. P. Jones, & D. Hamer (Eds.), The Early Masonic Catechisms (1943). Manchester University Press.
The Cooke Manuscript (c. 1410–1425). In Douglas Knoop, G. P. Jones, & D. Hamer (Eds.), The Early Masonic Catechisms (1943). Manchester University Press.
Webb, T. S. (1797). The Freemason’s Monitor. Albany: Spencer & Webb.
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