3-39. 25C.
{Reprint ‘The Builder,” from The Lion of November, 1936}

THE BUILDER

There were three stonecutters at work in a stoneyard, all
busy fashioning the rough chunks of rock into smoothly
symmetrical building blocks. A passerby, so the story goes,
stopped to watch the workmen, even as you and I would do;
and after observing the three for a time asked each of them
the same question.

“What are you doing there?”

The first workman answered, “I am cutting stone.”

The second said, “I am making $7.50 a day.”

But the third replied, “We are building a cathedral, don’t
you see?”

Which of these men do you think would make the best Lion?
Judging from his answer I think we should be safe in
assuming that the first workman would be just a member
of the club, filling in his time at meetings, going through all
the motions, as it were. It is even possible that he would be
critically inclined, yet unable to offer constructive criticism.

Looking at the second man’s answer, “I am making $7.50 a
day,” it is rather obvious that he would join the club for
what he got out of it.

We can pass over these two workmen without much
consideration.

But the third workman replied, “We are building a cathe-
dral, don’t you see?”

It is this third fellow who interests me. He interests me
no matter where he may be found, whether he be a stone-
cutter, a manufacturer, a merchant, a teacher, or a clerk;
for he is a true builder.

There is enthusiasm in his reply. It is in his words, in his
surprise that anyone should not know and feel the glory of
building a cathedral.

Here is a workman whose compensation was in his accom-
plishment. It is not in his mind that he is merely cutting
_ stone, nor that he is earning $7.50 a day. He is a partner
in a glorious enterprise. HE is helping to build a cathedral.
To him this salient fact overshadows all others. He has a
vision, an ideal, toward the fulfillment of which all his atten-
tion is directed. He is doing the greatest work in the world,
and it ‘doesn’t make any difference if the hours are many or
the pay is small. His mind is focussed on an objective. Stand
aside, laggards! This man knows where he is going!

As I repeat in my mind the answer of the third workman
a great number of other significant features stand out. This
man is thorough in his work. He is one of those who bend
all their attention to the job in hand, for he was concentrating
so steadily on trimming a rough stone that he was not

conscious of the presence of his questioner. So intent was
he upon his work, and so thoroughly “sold” on the sublimity
of it, that he could not refrain from adding to his answer a
surprised, “Don’t you see?” It is the answer of a busy man
suddenly interrupted.

There is the spirit of genuine cooperation in his words, too.
He did not say, “I am building a cathedral,” or “They are
building a cathedral.” No. “WE are building a cathedral.”
Clearly he implied, “Tom, and Bill, and Henry, the foreman,
the superintendent—we are all working together in the con-
struction.”

The two other stonecutters may have been forgetful of him
and of each other, but he is mindful of their part in the
building, too. He is cooperating with them, and in his eyes
they are cooperating with him.

“Don’t you see?” As far as he is concerned the whole
world’s wrapped up in what he is doing, and he is surprised
to find even a passerby not knowing what the work is all
about, not having a vision of the completed temple.

We can assume with certainty that this third man would
belong to the best club and the best association; that he would
give it all he had, and would be surprised to find anyone who
did not think as he did. As a member of a Lions Club he
would not be a member of a lot of other clubs. He would
concentrate on his Lion membership.

I like to think of him as a Lion stonecutter. I like to think
of him as building a Lions Club, for he certainly would fill
his niche as a member. Lions like him are building a cathedral,
don’t you see? A Lions Club! We are members of it. We are
partners in it. We have a large vision of it. We are enthusiastic
about it. We are proud of it. It is OUR club. Yes, OUR
CATHEDRAL.

To these “third men” of the world the simple task of cutting
stones is not just stonecutting. It is cathedral building; for the
stone which is cut today with great care and concentration
is tomorrow a part of the mighty cathedral. =

Build today, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;

And ascending and secure
Shall tomorrow find its place.

Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.

(This page Copyrighted, August, 1938. Lions Clubs are permitted to use this material without securing permission.)