oke-black, the nature of which, as has been
remarked many times, is to become ever darker with time, to the
injury of the other colours with which it is mixed, I believe that
the picture would still be as fresh as when he painted it; whereas
it now appears to be rather a mass of shadows than aught else.

I have thought fit, almost at the close of this Life, to make this
discourse, in order to show with what labour, study, and diligence
this honoured craftsman always pursued his art; and even more for
the sake of other painters, to the end that they may learn how to
avoid those hindrances from which the wisdom and genius of Raffaello
were able to deliver him. I must add this as well, that every man
should be satisfied and contented with doing that work to which he
feels himself drawn by a natural inclination, and should not seek,
out of emulation, to put his hand to that for which nature has not
adapted him; for otherwise he will labour in vain, and often to his
own shame and loss. Moreover, where striving is enough, no man
should aim at super-striving,[27] merely in order to surpass those
who, by some great gift of nature, or by some special grace bestowed
on them by God, have performed or are performing miracles in art;
for the reason that he who is not suited to any particular work, can
never reach, let him labour as he may, the goal to which another,
with the assistance of nature, has attained with ease. Of this,
among the old craftsmen, we may see an example in Paolo Uccello,
who, striving against the limitations of his powers, in order to
advance, did nothing but go backwards. The same has been done in our
own day, no long time since, by Jacopo da Pontormo, and it has been
proved by the experience of many others, as we have shown before and
will point out yet again. And this, perchance, happens because
Heaven always distributes its favours, to the end that every man may
rest content with that which falls to him.

But now, having discoursed on these matters of art, perchance at
greater length than was needful, let us return to the life and death
of Raffaello. He had a strait friendship with Cardinal Bernardo
Divizio of Bibbiena, who had importuned him for many years to take a
wife of his choosing; and Raffaello, while not directly refusing to
obey the wishes of the Cardinal, had yet put the matter off, saying
that he would rather wait till three or four years had passed. This
term came upon Raffaello when he was n