s didicisse fideliter artes
Emollit mores nec sinit esse feros,"--

_To have studied carefully the liberal arts refines the manners, and
prevents us from being brutish._ And Phillips, in his "New World of Words"
(1706), defines the liberal arts and sciences to be "such as are fit for
gentlemen and scholars, as mechanic trades and handicrafts for meaner
people." As Freemasons are required by their landmarks to be _free-born_,
we see the propriety of incorporating the arts of free-born men among
their symbols. As the system of Masonry derived its present form and
organization from the times when the study of these arts and sciences
constituted the labors of the wisest men, they have very appropriately
been adopted as the symbol of the completion of human learning.

ASHLAR. In builders' language, a stone taken from the quarries.

ASHLAR, PERFECT. A stone that has been hewed, squared, and polished, so as
to be fit for use in the building. Masonically, it is a symbol of the
state of perfection attained by means of education. And as it is the
object of Speculative Masonry to produce this state of perfection, it may
in that point of view be also considered as a symbol of the social
character of the institution of Freemasonry.

ASHLAR, ROUGH. A stone in its rude and natural state. Masonically, it is a
symbol of men's natural state of ignorance. But if the perfect ashlar be,
in reference to its mode of preparation, considered as a symbol of the
social character of Freemasonry, then the rough ashlar must be considered
as a symbol of the profane world. In this species of symbolism, the rough
and perfect ashlars bear the same relation to each other as ignorance does
to knowledge, death to life, and light to darkness. The rough ashlar is
the profane, the perfect ashlar is the initiate.

ASHMOLE, ELIAS. A celebrated antiquary of England, who was born in 1617.
He has written an autobiography, or rather diary of his life, which
extends to within eight years of his death. Under the date of October 16,
1646, he has made the following entry: "I was made a Free-Mason at
Warrington, in Lancashire, with Col. Henry Mainwaring, of Carticham, in
Cheshire; the names of those that were then at the lodge: Mr. Richard
Penket, warden; Mr. James Collier, Mr. Richard Sankey, Henry Littler, John
Ellam and Hugh Brewer." Thirty-six years afterwards, under date of March
10, 1682, he makes the following entry: "I received a summons to appear at
a l