; nor did he ever cease to tell
Pietro how much gain and honour painting brought to those who
practised it well, and he would urge the boy to the study of that art
by recounting to him the rewards won by ancient and modern masters;
wherefore he fired his mind in such a manner, that Pietro took it into
his head to try, if only fortune would assist him, to become one of
these. For this reason he was often wont to ask any man whom he knew
to have seen the world, in what part the best craftsmen in that
calling were formed; particularly his master, who always gave him one
and the same answer--namely, that it was in Florence more than in any
other place that men became perfect in all the arts, especially in
painting, since in that city men are spurred by three things. The
first is censure, which is uttered freely and by many, seeing that the
air of that city makes men's intellects so free by nature, that they
do not content themselves, like a flock of sheep, with mediocre works,
but ever consider them with regard to the honour of the good and the
beautiful rather than out of respect for the craftsman. The second is
that, if a man wishes to live there, he must be industrious, which is
naught else than to say that he must continually exercise his
intelligence and his judgment, must be ready and adroit in his
affairs, and, finally, must know how to make money, seeing that the
territory of Florence is not so wide or abundant as to enable her to
support at little cost all who live there, as can be done in countries
that are rich enough. The third, which is perchance no less potent
than the others, is an eager desire for glory and honour, which is
generated mightily by that air in the men of all professions; and this
desire, in all persons of spirit, will not let them stay content with
being equal, much less inferior, to those whom they see to be men like
themselves, although they may recognize them as masters--nay, it
forces them very often to desire their own advancement so eagerly,
that, if they are not kindly or wise by nature, they turn out
evil-speakers, ungrateful, and unthankful for benefits. It is true,
indeed, that when a man has learnt there as much as suffices him, he
must, if he wishes to do more than live from day to day like an
animal, and desires to become rich, take his departure from that place
and find a sale abroad for the excellence of his works and for the
repute conferred on him by that city, as the doctors do