gree of Excellence to another with fuch a happy Vigour that every thing he did feem'd better than what he had done before, and his Laft Works, the Cartons at Hampton-Court, and the famous Hiftory of the Tranf figuration are esteem'd to be his Beft. His first manner when he came out of the School of his Master, was like thofe of that Age, Stiff, and Dry; but he foon meliorated his Style by the Strength of his own fine Genius and the fight of the Works of other good Mafters of that time, in and about Florence, chiefly of Lionardo da Vinci; and thus form'd a Second manner with which he went to Rome. Here he Found, or Procur'd whatever might contribute to his Improvement, he faw faw great Variety of the Precious Remains of Antiquity, and employ'd feveral good Hands to Defign all of that kind in Greece, and elsewhere, as well as in Italy, of which he form'd a Rare Collection: Here he faw the Works of Michelangelo whofe Style may be faid to be rather Gygantick, than Great, and which abundantly diftinguifh'd him from all the Mafters of that Age; I know it has been dif puted whether Raffaele made any Advantage from seeing of the Works of this great Sculptor, Architect, and Painter; which tho' 'twas (I believe) intended as a Compliment to him seems to me to be directly the contrary; He was too Wife,and too Modest not to serve R 2 him himself of whatsoever was worthy of his Confideration; And that he did fo in this Cafe is Evident by a Drawing I have of his Hand, in which One fees plainly the Michelangelo Taft. Not that he refted here, his Noble Mind afpir'd to fomething beyond what the World had then to fhew, And he accomplifh'd it in a Style, in which there is fuch a Judicious Mixture of the Antique, of the Modern Tafte, and of Nature, together with his Own Admirable Ideas that it feems impoffible that any other could have been fo proper for the Works he was to do, and his Own, and Succeeding times. What further Views he might have had, and how much higher he would have car carry'd the Art had the Divine Providence (who to the honour of Humane Nature endued him with fuch Excellent Qualities) thought fit to have lent him longer to the World that Divine Wildom only knows, Ille hic eft Raphael, timuit quo fofpite vinci Rerum magna parens, & moriente mori. Epitath by Card. Bembo. Thus Raffaele had three feveral Manners which are call'd his Perugino, his Florentine, and his Roman Manners; In all which this Great Genius is evidently feen. But having in the two former rais'd himself above all the Other Masters, the Competition afterwards was only between Raffaele to Day, and Raffaele Yesterday. A A great Variety is to be found in the Works of the fame Men from Causes as Natural as Youth, Maturity, and Old Age. Our Bodies, and Minds have their Irregular, and Seemingly Contingent Changes as well as those Stated, and Certain ones; fuch are Indifpofition, or Weariness, The Weather, the Season of the Year, Joy, and Gaiety, or Grief, Heaviness, or Vexation, all these, and a thousand other Accidents influence our Works, and produce a great Variety in them. Somtimes the Work it felf does not please us as to the Kind of it, fomtimes it does not fucceed as we Endeavour it fhould; This is for Those we Honour, and defire to Please, for what reasons foever, That goes on heavily be |