Explore "The Cathedral of Cologne" by Esther Singleton on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
ERNEST BRETON.
We are now in the middle of the Tenth Century and in the city of Cologne; for several hours a man has been sitting upon the banks of a river, flowing majestically at the base of those ramparts which sixty years ago were erected by Philip von Heinsberg, and for several hours his thoughtful brow has not been lifted. This man was the first master-workman of his time; three centuries later he was called the prince of architects. The Archbishop of Cologne had said to him: "Master, we must build a cathedral here which will surpass all the buildings of the world in grandeur and magnificence. " The artist replied: "I will do it; " and now he was pondering over ways of accomplishing his promise about which he was frightened. At this moment he was trying to think out a marvellous plan which would give lustre to his country and immortalize his name; but nothing came into his mind worthy of the prodigy he was trying to conceive and could not create.