THE TROWEL
Operative reasons use trowels to spread the
cement or mortar which unites the bricks or
stones of a building into a common mass. The
trowel is the instrument which is used to
distribute the bonding material in the proper
proportions between the separate building
units of a structure.
Speculative Masons are taught to regard the
trowel as the principal tool of a Master
Workman. Its symbolical use is to spread the
cement of brotherly love and affection; and
it is no mere coincidence that the principal
working tool of a Master Mason is linked to
the central purpose which Freemasonry has
always proclaimed.
Obviously, Freemasons should be concerned
with a figurative trowel, a symbol, which
represents a certain kind of behavior, a mode
of conduct, which every Master Mason is
charged to practice. In the transfer of ideas
involved in such a metaphor, it is clear that
the individual Brother is being exhorted to
become a trowel, which distributes in proper
proportion the bonding materials of brotherly
love and affection. He is to be a force which
helps to unite the divided human units of
society into a harmonious structure of
civilization.
The founders of Speculative Freemasonry
bequeathed to their followers a book of moral
`charges. The "Ancient Constitutions" mean
little if they are not interpreted as such,
with the underlying idea being the ancient
virtue of humanitas, the ability to express
humane feelings, - kindness, gentleness,
helpfulness, - by means of a benevolently
disciplined character which has achieved good
breeding and culture, and which displays them
through brotherly love.
The principal object of Freemasonry has
always been to perfect the individual and to
guide mankind toward a better, more
harmonious development. The individual Mason
is a Builder on the Temple of Human
Brotherhood; he is both the trowel and the
cement which combine the units of society
into a cohesive whole. The brotherly love he
extends to others is the trowel; the
appreciation and affection he arouses are the
cement which helps to bind men closer to each
other.
Clear as this central purpose seems to be in
the ritual of Freemasonry, as well as in the
teachings of Masonic thinkers in every
generation, one is often led to wonder how
many Masons have really understood this
fundamental idea of Masonic humanitas. How
many Brothers consciously use the trowel of
brotherly love to spread the cement of
appreciation and understanding?
Masonic brotherly love is not a mere
sentimentality, which one puts on like an
apron when one goes to lodge. The trowel of
brotherly love cannot be restricted to
applying the mortar of good will when one is
dealing with a Brother Mason. Brotherly love
is a mode of conduct to which a Builder
trains his emotions and feelings, for which
he learns to subdue his passions, so that his
trowel may spread the mortar of harmony among
all men with whom he labors, not only Brother
Masons.
Masonic brotherly love is not merely a
breezy, cheerful "glad hand", which manifests
itself in a bubbling demonstrativeness with
old and new acquaintances, but rarely has
time to look or listen for the sounds of
spiritual distress or human need in the
hearts and voices of those around us. Masonic
brotherly love is not generally exemplified
by the overpoweringly garrulous salesman who
"wants to do you a favor". The mortar of
brotherly love needs a stronger bonding
ingredient than that; the trowel must
distribute the cement in better proportions.
Masonic brotherly love is not mere courtesy,
either. To listen politely, to answer
respectfully, to avoid giving pain may be
some of the marks of a gentleman; but they
are not always the purposeful acts of a
Builder who is consciously using the trowel
of brotherly love and affection. Merely to
acknowledge others, but not to respond to
them, is using a thin watery mortar which
will never bond the ashlars together
properly. To love others is to accept them,
their prejudices as well as their amiable
virtues, and to work with what they have and
really are. To reject them, no matter how
courteously, is still a rejection, an
ingredient which no good Builder puts into
the mortar he mixes for the Temple of
Brotherly Love.
Yet, if these negative descriptions
represented the chief misunderstandings of
the true nature of Freemasonry's great
purpose, to spread the cement of brotherly
love and affection, they would merit little
attention. The great problem of the Builder
is that of indifference. The number of
trowels that are lying idle is staggering;
the tower of Babel overshadows the Temple of
Brotherhood.
How often we hear people say, "Oh, I'd like
to do something constructive, something fine.
But I'm tied up in so many things. I'm on a
treadmill at the office; I've got so many
obligations at home. One thing after another
comes up in the neighborhood and I'm called
on for help. I'm on the go so much, I just
don't have time to think anymore."
Masons are people, and many a Mason has given
a similar response: "I just don't have time
to think about Masonry." And so another
trowel lies uselessly in the tool chest,
while the Grand Architect cries for Master
Workmen to mount the scaffolding of the
Temple of Universal Brotherhood. The
ingredients for the mortar are still packed
in the storeroom; there aren't enough
Builders to mix the cement and carry it away.
This is one of the widest held and most
dangerous errors of our time, that a man is
too busy to do something in accordance with
his ideals, to be of help to others. As a
matter of fact, the busier a man is, the more
numerous are his opportunities to use the
trowel of brotherly love and affection.
Furthermore, in a willingness to spread the
cement of love and understanding lies the
surest guarantee of real inner peace and life-
long satisfaction. One doesn't have to
accomplish big things, or even to neglect
one's duties, to achieve those spiritual
rewards.
It is just such activity, the application of
the trowel of brotherly love, which Albert
Schweitzer calls "the second lesson of life".
It stimulates noble and ennobling responses;
it awakens dormant and forgotten powers.
Unused human capabilities are given
meaningful expression; and what this world
needs most today are people who concern
themselves with the spiritual needs of
others.
Every man, believes Dr. Schweitzer, can
enrich and develop his personality, no matter
how busy he may be, by seizing every
opportunity to release the spiritual power of
love which he possesses. How? By completing
"the second lesson of life", which to Masons
means the faithful and proficient use of the
trowel of brotherly love and affection.
In a personal anecdote, the great philosopher
illustrates what he means. "I once sat next
to a lively young man in a third class
railroad compartment. He gave the impression
that he was always aware of something not
visible to the rest of us in the conditions
around him. Opposite him sat a very nervous
old man who seemed to be terribly worried.
When the young man remarked that it would be
dark before the train reached the next town,
the old man began to quiver and exclaimed
fearfully, `I don't know what I'm going to
do. My only son is in the hospital there.
He's awfully sick. I got a telegram this
morning to come as soon as possible. But I'm
from the country; I'm afraid I'll get lost in
the big city.' Whereupon the young man said
reassuringly, `I know the town well. I'll get
off with you and take you to your son. I'll
catch a later train.' And as they got off the
train, they walked along the platform like
brothers."
Most of us go through life with our eyes
closed to many of the opportunities which we
have for working on the Temple of Universal
Brotherhood. Struck by the dazzling structure
as designed upon the trestleboard, we are
blind to the little tasks which lie close at
hand. We fail to grasp our trowels to spread
the mortar of understanding and good will in
the situation right before us.
And in this indifference may lie one of the
greatest causes of the illnesses which are
troubling the Fraternity today. In a simpler
age, when Brothers really knew each other and
lived with each other's needs and triumphs
and tribulations, Masonic charity and
benevolence were the concern of almost every
Builder. He knew how to use the trowel of
brotherly love and understanding.
But with the tremendous growth in our
membership and in the rootlessness of so much
of our population today, our Masonic
benevolence has become institutionalized and
consequently more impersonal. Many a Brother
has seen a dazzling picture of his Masonic
Home or Hospital; but it was just a vivid
picture. It called for no action from his
trowel of brotherly love and affection.
"The trowel is an instrument made use of . .
.", but until it is actually employed, it is
useless. If the greatest need of our time is
for men who understand friendship, morality,
and brotherly love, . . . if the greatest
danger to modern man is the loss of
individuality because of the demands for
conformity and obedience to dogma, Freemasons
should be especially suited to fill the need
and to overcome the danger. But the trowel of
every Master Mason must go to work each day!
Just as operative masons use special tools
for particular situations, so Speculative
Masons must learn to use specialized trowels
for spreading the cement of brotherly love
and affection. Operative craftsmen use corner
trowels, curbing trowels, guttering trowels,
brick trowels, pointing trowels, - each one
shaped and fashioned for a particular
operation.
Speculative Master Masons must learn to use
the specialized trowels of appreciation,
admiration, compliment, and congratulation to
spread the mortar of mutual esteem which
harmonious community life requires.
Speculative Master Masons must learn to use
the specialized trowels of forebearance and
conciliation to spread the cement of mutual
respect and confidence without which
democracy cannot function. Speculative Master
Masons must learn, to use the specialized
trowel of reverence for truth and for the
dignity of every individual, no matter how
disagreeable either may be, to infuse into
public life the essential ingredients of
personal freedom.
Speculative Master Masons must learn to use
the specialized trowels of kindness and
gentleness, of compassion and service to all
men, if they would spread the cement of
genuine love and understanding.
This must be the great objective of Masonic
education, if Builders are to learn how to
use their tools properly, especially the
trowel. This must be the fundamental program
of Freemasonry, if it is to remain true to
the central purpose of its ancient charges
and landmarks.
Just as an operative workman learns to use
each trowel for a particular need or
situation, so every Master Mason needs to
learn the uses of the spiritual trowels which
symbolize the power of brotherly love and
friendship. There is need in every lodge for
more Masonic instruction than that contained
in the ritual.
Every Builder should be helped to that
realization, so beautifully described by
Joseph Fort Newton, which comes to proficient
Craftsmen who have learned to use the trowel:
"When is a man a Mason? When he knows how to
sympathize with men in their sorrows, yea,
even in their sins - knowing that each man
fights a hard battle against many odds. . . .
When no voice of distress reaches his ears in
vain, and no hand seeks his aid without
response. When he finds good in every faith
that helps any man to lay hold of divine
things and sees majestic meanings in life,
whatever the faith may be. . . . When he
knows that down in his heart every man is as
noble, as vile, as divine, as diabolic, and
as lonely as himself, and seeks to know, to
forgive, and to love his fellow man."
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