C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.

In the Cathedral of Toledo

Translation of Samuel Eliot

THIS massive form, sculptured in mountain stones,

As it once issued from the earth profound,

Monstrous in stature, manifold in tones

Of incense, light, and music spread around,—

This an unquiet people still doth throng

With pious steps, and heads bent down in fear;

Yet not so noble as through ages long,

Is old Toledo’s sanctuary austere.

Glorious in other days, it stands alone,

Mourning the worship of more Christian years,

Like to a fallen queen, her empire gone,

Wearing a crown of miseries and tears.

Or like a mother, hiding griefs unseen,

She calls her children to her festivals,

And triumphs still—despairing yet serene,

With swelling organs and with pealing bells.