Itmustbeacknowledgedlikewise，thattogetherwiththese，whichwewishhehadmoreattendedto，hehasrejectedallthefalsethoughspeciousornamentswhichdisgracetheworksevenofthemostesteemedartists;andIwillventuretosay，thatwhenthosehigherexcellencesaremoreknownandcultivatedbytheartistsandthepatronsofarts，hisfameandcreditwillincreasewithourincreasingknowledge。HisnamewillthenbeheldinthesamevenerationasitwasintheenlightenedageofLeotheTenth：anditisremarkablethatthereputationofthistrulygreatmanhasbeencontinuallydecliningastheartitselfhasdeclined。ForI
mustremarktoyou，thatithaslongbeenmuchonthedecline，andthatouronlyhopeofitsrevivalwillconsistinyourbeingthoroughlysensibleofitsdepravationanddecay。ItistoMichaelAngelothatweoweeventheexistenceofRaffaelle;itistohimRaffaelleowesthegrandeurofhisstyle。Hewastaughtbyhimtoelevatehisthoughts，andtoconceivehissubjectswithdignity。
Hisgenius，however，formedtoblazeandtoshine，might，likefireincombustiblematter，foreverhavelaindormantifithadnotcaughtasparkbyitscontactwithMichaelAngelo：andthoughitneverburstoutwiththatextraordinaryheatandvehemence，yetitmustbeacknowledgedtobeamorepure，regular，andchasteflame。
ThoughourjudgmentwilluponthewholedecideinfavourofRaffaelle：yethenevertakesthatfirmholdandentirepossessionofthemindinsuchamannerastodesirenothingelse，andfeelnothingwanting。TheeffectofthecapitalworksofMichaelAngeloperfectlycorrespondtowhatBourchardonsaidhefeltfromreadingHomer。Hiswholeframeappearedtohimselftobeenlarged，andallnaturewhichsurroundedhimdiminishedtoatoms。
Ifweputthosegreatartistsinalightofcomparisonwitheachother，Raffaellehadmoretasteandfancy，MichaelAngelomoregeniusandimagination。Theoneexcelledinbeauty，theotherinenergy。MichaelAngelohasmoreofthepoeticalinspiration;hisideasarevastandsublime;hispeopleareasuperiororderofbeings;thereisnothingaboutthem，nothingintheairoftheiractionsortheirattitudes，orthestyleandcastoftheirverylimbsorfeatures，thatputsoneinmindoftheirbelonging，toourownspecies。Raffaelle’simaginationisnotsoelevated;hisfiguresarenotsomuchdisjoinedfromourowndiminutiveraceofbeings，thoughhisideasarechaste，noble，andofgreatconformitytotheirsubjects。MichaelAngelo’sworkshaveastrong，peculiar，andmarkedcharacter;theyseemtoproceedfromhisownmindentirely，andthatmindsorichandabundant，thatheneverneeded，orseemedtodisdain，tolookabroadforforeignhelp。Raffaelle’smaterialsaregenerallyborrowed，thoughthenoblestructureishisown。Theexcellencyofthisextraordinarymanlayinthepropriety，beauty，andmajestyofhischaracters，hisjudiciouscontrivanceofhiscomposition，correctnessofdrawing，purityoftaste，andtheskilfulaccommodationofothermen’sconceptionstohisownpurpose。Nobodyexcelledhiminthatjudgment，withwhichheunitedtohisownobservationsonnaturetheenergyofMichaelAngelo，andthebeautyandsimplicityoftheantique。Tothequestion，therefore，whichoughttoholdthefirstrank，RaffaelleorMichaelAngelo，itmustbeanswered，thatifitistobegiventohimwhopossessedagreatercombinationofthehigherqualitiesoftheartthananyotherman，thereisnodoubtbutRaffaelleisthefirst。Butif，accordingtoLonginus，thesublime，beingthehighestexcellencethathumancompositioncanattainto，abundantlycompensatestheabsenceofeveryotherbeauty，andatonesforallotherdeficiencies，thenMichaelAngelodemandsthepreference。