The Devotion of the Cross
A Drama
“The last drama to which Mr. Mac-Carthy introduces us is the famous ‘Devotion of the Cross’. We cannot deny the praise of great power to this strange and repulsive work, in which Calderon draws us onward by a deep and terrible dramatic interest, while doing cruel violence to our moral nature.... Our readers may be glad to compare the translations which Archbishop Trench and Mr. Mac-Carthy have given us of a celebrated address to the Cross contained in this drama. ‘Tree whereon the pitying skies’, etc. Mr. Mac-Carthy does not appear to us to suffer from comparison on this occasion with a true poet, who is also a skilful translator. Indeed he has faced the difficulties and given the sense of the original with more decision than Archbishop Trench”.
“The Guardian”, in its review of the same volume.