I can swear that during all the hours I spent in listening to their nightly dialogues, I never heard a word that was not comely and of good repute.

Indeed, it seemed to me very remarkable, among such crowds of young men, to overhear nothing but virtuous conversation." At the same period, Michelangelo fell under very different influences; and these left a far more lasting impression on his character than the gay festivals and witty word-combats of the lords of Florence.

In 1491 Savonarola, the terrible prophet of coming woes, the searcher of men's hearts, and the remorseless denouncer of pleasant vices, began that Florentine career which ended with his martyrdom in 1498.

He had preached in Florence eight years earlier, but on that occasion he passed unnoticed through the crowd.

Now he took the whole city by storm.