Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 5.djvu/477

Rh Prelate lived, having accompanied him to England, and is now Secretary to Monsignore, the Prince Bishop of Liege, Messer Domenico Lampsonio, I say, formerly sent me the Life of Lambert, written in Latin, and I have often received greetings from him in the name of many of our artists, belonging to those lands. One of his letters, dated Oct. 30th, 1564, is of the tenor here following:—

“During four years I have had it in my mind to thank your honourable worship for two important benefits received at your most courteous hands, I know that this exordium may appear strange to you as coming from one whom you have never seen or known; and so it might be, if you, in like manner, were unknown to me; but the matter stands on this wise, my happy fortune, or more properly the goodness of God, had put into my hands your most excellent writings concerning the architects, painters, and sculptors, but at that time I did not understand a word of Italian, whereas now, although I have never seen Italy, yet I thank Heaven that by reading your works I have acquired such little knowledge as emboldens me to write to you as I am now doing. Your writings have inspired me with a wish to learn your language, what perhaps no other book could have done, and to the study of this I was furthermore impelled by the profound and natural love which from my childhood I have borne to those three arts whereof you treat, but most especially to that which gratifies every age, sex, and condition, doing good to all and hurting none, your own art of painting. It is true that when I commenced the reading of your works I was in perfect ignorance respecting those arts, and had no judgment in the matter, but by the frequent and reiterated perusal of your writings, I have acquired so much that, even though it be but little, or almost nothing, does yet suffice to add a cheerfulness and joy to my life, procuring me a pleasure which I value above all the honours, enjoyments, or riches of this world.

And the little whereof I speak is this, that I design or occasionally paint in oil the natural objects before me, more particularly figures nude or draped, but I have not courage to go further and attempt such things as require a firmer and more practised hand, landscapes, trees, waters, clouds, fires, meteors, &c., although it is true that in a case of neces-