And truly it was a blessing of God
that he was not in Florence at the time of the death of Clement; he was
called to Rome by the Pontiff before he had quite finished the tombs at
San Lorenzo. He was received gladly. Clement respected this man like one
sacred, and talked with him familiarly, both on grave and trivial
subjects, as he would have done with his equals. He sought to relieve him
of the burden of the Tomb of Julius, so that he might settle in Florence
permanently, not only to finish the works already begun, but that he might
execute others no less worthy.
XLVII. But before I say any more about this it behoves me to write of
another fact concerning Michael Angelo, which I have inadvertently
omitted. After the violent departure of the Medici from Florence, the
Signoria fearing, as I have said above, the coming war, and intending to
fortify their city, sent for Michael Angelo, as they knew him to be a man
of consummate ingenuity and most active in whatever he undertook;
nevertheless, by the advice of certain citizens who favoured the cause of
the Medici and wished covertly to hinder or delay the fortification of the
city, they sent him to Ferrara, under pretext that he should study the
system by which Duke Alfonso had armed and fortified his city, knowing
that his Excellency was most expert in these matters and in everything
else most prudent. The Duke received Michael Angelo gladly, not only for
the great worthiness of the man, but also because Don Ercole, his son and
now Duke in his stead, was Captain of the Signoria of Florence.
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