All the same, I have not yet heard any one say the contrary; this man is so far above envy.

Raffael da Urbino, although he desired to compete with Michael Angelo, was often constrained to say that he thanked God he was born in his time as he acquired from him a style very different from that which he learnt from his father, who was a painter, and from his master Perugino.

But what greater and clearer sign can we ever have of the excellence of this man than the contention of the Princes of the world for him?
From the four Pontiffs, Julius, Leo, Clement, and Paul, to the Grand Turk, father of him who to-day holds the Empire.

As I have said above, the Sultan sent certain monks of the Order of Saint Francis with letters begging Michael Angelo to come and stay with him; arranging by letters of credit for the bank of the Gondi, in Florence, to advance the amount of money necessary for his journey, and also that from Cossa, near Ragusi, he should be accompanied to Constantinople most honourably by one of his grandees.

Francesco( 54) Valesio, King of France, tried every means to get him, crediting him with three thousand scudi for his journey whenever he should go.