Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 4.djvu/494

486 produce designs, which are afterwards to he executed in large paintings, comprising so many and such varied subjects, should then receive for the laborious thought of his nights, and the toils, perhaps of many weeks, only so much as one would pay the daily work of him who, instead of having to rack his brains in the manner that Aristotile has done, is only called on to copy and imitate, without any fatigue of mind, and but little in comparison of hand or body.

“But suppose that you had, as you say, received the commission for this work, although you might have added more stories and richer ornaments, as you affirm, yet you would perhaps not have produced a more graceful result than is exhibited by Bastiano, who in this kind of work has very judiciously been considered by the Cardinal to be superior to yourself. Above all, you are to remember that by judging this matter unjustly, it is not to Aristotile alone, but to the knowledge and ability of artists in general that you do wrong; most of all, however, do you injure your own soul and offend your conscience, if you depart from the uprightness of duty for the sake of anger and private vexation: be certain, also, that good judges, who cannot but perceive the work to be a fair one, will not censure the artist, because it has been unduly estimated, but will blame the weakness of our judgment, or perhaps the malignity and envy of our nature. Nay, we know well, moreover, that whether we attempt to over-estimate the works we are called to judge for the sake of winning favour from the artist, or whether we depreciate and censure the good works of another to avenge ourselves of an injury received, we must needs be ultimately known to men as well as to God for what we are; malignant, ignorant, and wicked. Consider, too, you who have a hand in all the works executed in Borne, what would you think if others were to estimate your works as you judge theirs? Put yourself, I beseech you, in the place of this poor old man, for then you will see to how great an extent you are departing Ifom reason and justice in this matter.”

These words and others, which were spoken in the most friendly way by Vasari to Perino, produced such an effect, that they did at length agree upon an upright estimation.