The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. – Michelangelo
Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. – Michelangelo
Many believe – and I believe – that I have been designated for this work by God. In spite of my old age, I do not want to give it up; I work out of love for God and I put all my hope in Him. – Michelangelo
I am a poor man and of little worth, who is laboring in that art that God has given me in order to extend my life as long as possible. – Michelangelo
The best artist has that thought alone Which is contained within the marble shell; The sculptor’s hand can only break the spell To free the figures slumbering in the stone. – Michelangelo
The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms; and to confide in one’s self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course. – Michelangelo
I live in sin, to kill myself I live; no longer my life my own, but sin’s; my good is given to me by heaven, my evil by myself, by my free will, of which I am deprived. – Michelangelo
What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed? – Michelangelo
The best of artists has no conception that the marble alone does not contain within itself. – Michelangelo
If we have been pleased with life, we should not be displeased with death, since it comes from the hand of the same master. – Michelangelo
If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all. – Michelangelo