After Dante had written “The Inferno,” the people of Florence as they saw him walking through the streets, would shrink from him and whisper, “_That is the man who was in hell_.” “It were impossible,” they said, “for one to write about the infernal world as Dante did, without having seen it.” The same thought impresses itself upon one as he beholds The Final Judgment. One says, “that picture was surely painted by an eye-witness.” Indeed you see no picture—you see the final judgment itself. You see Christ as judge, coming on the clouds, preceded by Gabriel and followed by a legion of angels. You see the assembled multitude, people from every nation, kindred, tribe and tongue, standing in the back ground breathless, awaiting the decision of the Judge. You see the remorse, the anguish, the misery, the woe of those who are led to the left and hurled headlong into the fiery pit below! Their expression convinces you that they realize in their hearts that no rainbow of hope will ever again brighten their skies, no note of mercy will ever more peal in their ears. You see the pleasure, the joy, the rapture, the ecstasy, that gladdens the hearts and illuminates the faces, of those who hear the welcome plaudit—“Well done, good and faithful servants—enter ye into the joy of your Lord.” After seeing this picture one can but say: “Michael Angelo saw the final judgment, and showed it me.” Soon after this picture was begun, one of the Cardinals of Rome, objecting to the artist’s design, interfered with the work. Angelo refused to make any alterations in his plan. The Cardinal demanded a change, whereupon Angelo gave up the engagement. The Cardinal then sent for other celebrated artists and requested them to finish the picture. Each and all of them declared that the work was beyond their scope and power. They all agreed that Michael Angelo was the only living man who could finish so perfect a piece of work. The Cardinal now sent for Angelo but he refused to have any further communication with that prelate. Finally the Pope himself interviewed the artist on the subject and agreed that he might finish the picture according to the first design, or according to any other design that he might choose. The Pope further agreed that the artist should not be interfered with in his work, and when once finished the picture should never be altered or changed. With this understanding Angelo resumed, and in due time finished, his work.