Whether operatively or in speculative allegory the process of preparing an ashlar is not simply one of unbridled force indiscriminately applied. In actual practice, a stonemason must practice constant mindfulness of his tools, of the energy applied through them, and of the surface upon which they are acting. If his attention wavers, he not only risks spoiling his work, he also risks damaging his tools, his own flesh, and perhaps that of others. So it is that we, as speculative masons, more properly emulate our operative bretheren when we go about the labors of social and moral virtue with eual midfulness, contemplatively aware of both internal and external factors involved in our work.
– Original author unknown