the statues of Canachus were very stiff and without any vivacity or
movement, and therefore very distant from the truth; and the same is
said of those of Calamis, although they were somewhat softer than those
aforesaid. Then came Myron, who was no very close imitator of the truth
of nature, but gave so much proportion and grace to his works that they
could be reasonably called beautiful. There followed in the third degree
Polycletus and the other so famous masters, who, as it is said and must
be believed, made them entirely perfect. The same progress must have
also come about in painting, because it is said, and it is reasonable to
suppose that it was so, that in the works of those who painted with only
one colour, and were therefore called Monochromatists, there was no
great perfection. Next, in the works of Zeuxis, Polygnotus, Timanthes,
and the others who used only four colours, there is nothing but praise
for their lineaments, outlines, and forms; yet, without doubt, they must
have left something to be desired. But in Erion, Nicomachus, Protogenes,
and Apelles, everything is perfect and most beautiful, and nothing
better can be imagined, seeing that they painted most excellently not
only the forms and actions of bodies, but also the emotions and passions
of the soul.

But, passing these men by, since for knowledge of them we must refer to
others, who very often do not agree in their judgments on them, or even,
what is worse, as to the dates, although in this I have followed the
best authorities; let us come to our own times, wherein we have the help
of the eye, a much better guide and judge than the ear. Is it not
clearly seen how great improvement was acquired by architecture--to
begin with one starting-point--from the time of the Greek Buschetto to
that of the German Arnolfo and of Giotto? See the buildings of those
times, and the pilasters, the columns, the bases, the capitals, and all
the cornices, with their ill-formed members, such as there are in
Florence, in S. Maria del Fiore, in the external incrustations of S.
Giovanni, and in S. Miniato sul Monte; in the Vescovado of Fiesole, in
the Duomo of Milan, in S. Vitale at Ravenna, in S. Maria Maggiore at
Rome, and in the Duomo Vecchio without Arezzo; wherein, excepting that
little of the good which survived in the ancient fragments, there is
nothing that has good order or form. But these men certainly improved it
not a little, and under their guidance it made no