CHAPTER VI
STEPS ON THE PATHWAY

BATH ABBEY is in itself a treasure of the
Perpendicular Style of Architecture. It is a
pity that it is so shut in by buildings, so that
its beauty is not realised; one characteristic
however is not hidden but remains a unique
and great feature of the building. It is the
ladders on either side of the west door, a
symbolical ladder leading from earth to heaven
on which we see Angels ascending and
descending. In two cases an Angel is depicted
dropping off the ladder.

Behind every symbol a great truth is hidden,
A ladder has been a symbol in many religions,
and some of us in our childhood were told of
Jacob's ladder which he saw in a dream. The
ladder from earth to heaven really exists, and it
is a pathway that leads from us to God. We
are all stepping on the road towards that great
pathway by the fact of our being part of the
evolution of the world. Some are conscious of