because I know how he values you. He loves you, knows
your nature, adores your work, and tastes its quality as much as it is
possible for man to do. Indeed, his appreciation is miraculous, and
such as ought to give great satisfaction to an artist. He speaks of
you so honourably, and with such loving affection, that a father could
not say of a son what he does of you. It is true that he has been
grieved at times by buzzings in his ear about you at the time of the
siege of Florence. He shrugged his shoulders and cried, 'Michelangelo
is in the wrong; I never did him any injury.'" It is interesting to
find Sebastiano, in the same letter, complaining of Michelangelo's
sensitiveness. "One favour I would request of you, that is, that you
should come to learn your worth, and not stoop as you do to every
little thing, and remember that eagles do not prey on flies. Enough! I
know that you will laugh at my prattle; but I do not care; Nature has
made me so, and I am not Zuan da Rezzo."

VIII

The year 1520 was one of much importance for Michelangelo. A _Ricordo_
dated March 10 gives a brief account of the last four years, winding
up with the notice that "Pope Leo, perhaps because he wants to get the
facade at S. Lorenzo finished quicker than according to the contract
made with me, and I also consenting thereto, sets me free ... and so
he leaves me at liberty, under no obligation of accounting to any one
for anything which I have had to do with him or others upon his
account." It appears from the draft of a letter without date that some
altercation between Michelangelo and the Medici preceded this rupture.
He had been withdrawn from Serravezza to Florence in order that he
might plan the new buildings at S. Lorenzo; and the workmen of the
Opera del Duomo continued the quarrying business in his absence.
Marbles which he had excavated for S. Lorenzo were granted by the
Cardinal de' Medici to the custodians of the cathedral, and no attempt
was made to settle accounts. Michelangelo's indignation was roused by
this indifference to his interests, and he complains in terms of
extreme bitterness. Then he sums up all that he has lost, in addition
to expected profits. "I do not reckon the wooden model for the said
facade, which I made and sent to Rome; I do not reckon the period of
three years wasted in this work; I do not reckon that I have been
ruined (in health and strength perhaps) by the undertaking; I do not
reckon the enormous insu