the most excellent qualities, among which was that
of kindliness, insomuch that there never was a man of more benign and
amicable disposition; in judgment he was calm and dispassionate, and
laid aside all thought of his own interest and even that of his friends,
whenever he perceived the merits and talents of others to demand that he
should do so. He knew himself, instructed many from the stores of his
genius, and was ever ready to succor his neighbor in all his
necessities; he declared himself the confirmed enemy of all vice, and
the friend of those who labored in the cause of virtue. Never did he
spend his moments vainly, but, although constantly occupied in his own
works, in assisting those of others, or administering to their
necessities, he had yet always time to bestow on his friends, for whom
his aid was ever ready."

In the meantime, Brunelleschi had studied architecture, and made such
progress that he had already conceived two grand projects--the one was
the revival of the good manner of ancient architecture, which was then
extinct, and the other was to discover a method for constructing the
cupola of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, in Florence, the
difficulties of which were so great that, after the death of Arnolfo di
Lapi, no architect had been found of sufficient courage and capacity to
attempt the vaulting of that cupola.[1] If he could accomplish one or
both of these designs, he believed that he would not only immortalize
his own name, but confer a lasting benefit on mankind. Filippo, having
resolved to devote himself entirely to architecture in future, set out
for Rome in company with his friend Donatello, without imparting his
purpose to any one. Here his mind became so absorbed that he labored
incessantly, scarcely allowing himself the rest which nature required.
He examined, measured, and made careful drawings of all the edifices,
ruins, arches, and vaults of antiquity; to these he devoted perpetual
study, and if by chance he found fragments of capitals, columns,
cornices, or basements of buildings, partly buried in the earth, he set
laborers at work to lay them open to view. One day, Filippo and
Donatello found an earthen vase full of ancient coins, which caused a
report to be spread about Rome that the artists were _treasure-seekers_,
and this name they often heard, as they passed along the streets,
negligently clothed, the people believing them to be men who studied
geomancy, for the discover