The twenty-four inch gauge is an instrument made use of by operative Masons to measure and lay out their work. But we, as Free and Accepted Masons, are taught to make use of it for the more noble and glorious purpose of dividing our time. It, being divided into twenty-four equal parts, is emblematic of the twenty-four hours of the day, which we are taught to divide into three parts, whereby we find a part for the service of God and a distressed worthy brother, a part for our usual vocations, and a part for refreshment and repose.
The common gavel is an instrument made use of by operative Masons to break off the rough and superfluous parts of stones, the better to fit them for the builder's use. But we, as Free and Accepted Masons, are taught to make use of it for the more noble and glorious purpose of divesting our hearts and consciences of all the vices and superfluities of life, thereby fitting our minds, as living stones, for that spiritual building, that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.