his work. He was also struck with the idea of retiring to Urbino, a peaceful spot, where he hoped that, out of respect for the memory of Julius II., he would be well received. With that object in view he had already sent there one of his men to buy a house."[1]
But, at the moment of coming to a decision, his willpower, as usual, failed him; he feared the consequences of his acts, and deceived himself with the eternal illusion—inevitably ending in disappointment—that he could get out of the difficulty by some compromise or other. He again allowed himself to be enchained and continued to drag his cannon ball until the end.
On September 1, 1535, Paul III. issued a brief appointing him architect-in-chief, sculptor and painter to the apostolic palace. Since the preceding April Michael Angelo had consented to work on "The Last Judgment."[2] He was entirely occupied with this work from April 1536 to November 1541—that is to say, during the sojourn of Vittoria at Rome. In the course of this enormous task—doubtless in 1539—the old man fell from his scaffolding and seriously injured his leg. "In his pain and anger he refused to be attended by a doctor."[3] He detested doctors and manifested in his letters a comical anxiety on hearing that one of the members of his family had had the imprudence to call one in.
"Fortunately for him, after his fall. Maestro Baccio Rontini, a Florentine, his friend and a clever physician,
