Once upon a time, when this was happening, God’s gaze, in its dark movement back and forth, had to halt over Italy. The land beneath was bright, the time shone like gold; but across this, like a dark road, lay the shadow of a robust man, heavy and black, and far in front of it, the shadow of his hands at work, unquiet, moving spasmodically now over Pisa, now over Naples, now melting into the uncertain motion of the sea. God could not take His eyes off these hands, which first appeared to Him to be joined as in prayer—but the prayer that welled up from them was driving them far apart. There was a silence in the heavens. All the saints followed God’s gaze and contemplated, as He was doing, the shadows that veiled half of Italy, and the hymns of angels froze on their faces, and the stars trembled, for they were afraid they had been guilty of some fault, and they waited humbly for God’s word of wrath. But nothing of the sort came to pass. The heavens had opened in their full breadth over Italy, so that Raphael was on his knees in Rome, and the holy Fra Angelico of Fiesole stood in a cloud and rejoiced over him. At this time, many prayers were on their way up from the earth. But God took heed of only one; the force of Michelangelo rose up to Him like a fragrance from the vineyards. And He allowed it to fill His thoughts. He leaned lower, found the man at work, looked over his shoulders on down to the hands lying attentively on stone, and was startled: Might there be souls in stones too? Why was this man listening to the stones? And now the hands awakened and pulled on the stone as though digging up a grave in which a weak, dying voice is quavering.

“Michelangelo,” God called out anxiously, “who is in the stone?” Then he answered in a dull voice, “You, O Lord, who else? But I can’t get at You.”

And then God felt that He was in the stone too, and He became afraid and felt closed in. The whole of heaven was a stone, and He was shut up in the middle of it, relying on Michelangelo’s hands to liberate Him; and He heard them coming, though still at a distance.