No hammers fell, no ponderous axes rung,
Like some tall palm the mystic fabric sprung.
Majestic silence.

No hammers fell, no ponderous axes rung,
Like some tall palm the mystic fabric sprung.
Majestic silence.

Earth proudly wears the Parthenon
As best gem upon her zone.

Earth proudly wears the Parthenon
As best gem upon her zone.

There was King Bradmond's palace,
Was never none richer, the story says:
For all the windows and read more

There was King Bradmond's palace,
Was never none richer, the story says:
For all the windows and the walls
Were painted with gold, both towers and halls;
Pillars and doors all were of brass;
Windows of latten were set with glass;
It was so rich in many wise,
That it was like a paradise.

Ah, to build, to build!
That is the noblest of all the arts.

Ah, to build, to build!
That is the noblest of all the arts.

Silently as a dream the fabric rose;
No sound of hammer or of saw was there.

Silently as a dream the fabric rose;
No sound of hammer or of saw was there.

Architecture is a social act and the material theater of human activity.

Architecture is a social act and the material theater of human activity.

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
read more

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the gods see everywhere.

Nor did there want
Cornice or frieze with bossy sculpture graven.

Nor did there want
Cornice or frieze with bossy sculpture graven.

Grandeur . . . consists in form, and not in size: and to the eye
of the philosopher, the read more

Grandeur . . . consists in form, and not in size: and to the eye
of the philosopher, the curve drawn on a paper two inches long,
is just as magnificent, just as symbolic of divine mysteries and
melodies, as when embodied in the span of some cathedral roof.