himself and content himself with himself whilst he loses his
friends and makes enemies of all, would it not be very wrong if they bore
him ill-will for that? But whoever has such a complexion both because the
force of his duty demands it, and because of his having been born with a
dislike of ceremony and dissimulation, it seems very foolish not to allow
him to live. And if such a man is so moderate that he does not want
anything of you, what do you want with him? And why should you wish to use
him in those vanities for which his quietness is not fitted? Do you not
know that there are sciences that require the whole man without ever
leaving him free for your idle trivialities? When he has as little to do
as you have, let him be killed if he does not observe your rules of
etiquette and compliment even better than you. You only seek his company
and praise him in order to obtain honour through him for yourselves, nor
do you really mind what sort of man he is, so long as a pope or an emperor
converse with him. And I dare affirm that he cannot be a great man who
tries to satisfy idle persons rather than the men of his own craft, nor
can one who is in nowise singular and reserved or whatever you may be
pleased to call it, be better than the ordinary and vulgar talents which
are to be found without a lantern in the market-places of the world...."

Here Michael ceased speaking, and a little while afterwards the
Marchioness said:

"If those friends of whom you are speaking had the discretion of the
friends of old, the evil would be smaller; when Arcesilaus went one day to
see Apelles, who was ill and in need, this good friend raised his artist's
head so as to arrange the pillow and put underneath a sum of money for his
cure, which sum, having been found by the old woman attending him, who was
frightened at the amount, Apelles, smiling, said: 'This money was stolen
from Arcesilaus; do not be astonished.'"

Then Lactancio added, in this manner, his opinion: "Skilful artists would
not exchange places with any other kind of men however great they may be,
so satisfied are they with some special joyousness which they get from
their art; but I would counsel them to exchange at least with the happy
ones, if it seemed to me that they wished to do so, and were it not that
they consider themselves the most happy of mortals. The mind which is
capable of the very highest painting knows where the lives and pleasures
of the pre-sumptuous lead