Page:The Life of Michael Angelo.djvu/108

 Pope as much as I was able. But I should arrange my affairs in consequence."

Pushed hard by necessity, he returned to the charge:

"After careful reflection, I see how much the Pope has this San Lorenzo work at heart; and since his Holiness, of his own accord, granted me an allowance, with the object of giving me greater leisure for serving him promptly, it would only be retarding the work if I were to refuse it. I have, therefore, changed my mind, and I now write to ask for it, for more reasons than I can explain. Will you give it me, counting from the day on which it was granted?… Tell me at what moment you would like me to take it."

But they wished to give him a lesson: they turned a deaf ear to his demands. Two months later he had still received nothing. More than once, after writing these two letters, was he obliged to ask for his allowance.

Worrying himself continually, he worked on. He complained that these cares were trammels on his imagination.

"Worries may have a great effect on me … One cannot work with one's hands at one thing and with one's head at another, especially in sculpture. They say that this serves to spur me on; but I contend that the goad is a bad one and may turn in the opposite direction. It is already more than a year since I have received an allowance and I struggle against poverty. I am very