The Rough and Perfect Ashlars
Two stones, one as it came from the quarry and one squared for the builder, standing for the unimproved man and the man improved by instruction.
Also called: rough ashlar · perfect ashlar
What it means
The monitors describe the rough ashlar as a stone taken from the quarry in its rude and natural state, and the perfect ashlar as a stone made ready by the hands of the workmen to be adjusted by the working tools. One is the candidate as he arrives; the other is what a life of discipline and instruction is meant to make of him.
Many Lodges keep both stones in the room. Between them sits the whole program of the Craft, and the other tools of the degrees are the means of getting from one to the other.
In context: The Working Tools of Freemasonry, Explained
Frequently asked questions
What does the Rough and Perfect Ashlars mean in Freemasonry?
Two stones, one as it came from the quarry and one squared for the builder, standing for the unimproved man and the man improved by instruction.
Who can wear the Rough and Perfect Ashlars?
This is a lesson rather than a badge. It turns up on Lodge charts, prints and gifts, and owning or displaying one says nothing about rank. On a lapel most people will read it as Masonic.
Sources
Drawn from the published monitors and from what the bodies concerned publish about themselves. Nothing here comes from, or goes beyond, any obligated material.
- Thomas Smith Webb, The Freemason's Monitor; or, Illustrations of Masonry (1797)
- William Preston, Illustrations of Masonry (1772)