Some of these, still extant, are among the most exquisite specimens of sixteenth-century craft.

This little affair gave Michelangelo considerable trouble.

First of all, the man who had to make the blade was long about it.

From the day when the Pope came to Bologna, he had more custom than all the smiths in the city were used in ordinary times to deal with.

Then, when the weapon reached Florence, it turned out to be too short.