In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.

The greatest risk to man is not that he aims to high and misses, but that he aims to low and hits.

If there is some good in me, it is because I was born in the subtle atmosphere of your country of Arezzo. Along with the milk of my nurse I received the knack of handling chisel and hammer, with which I make my figures.

When they asked Michelangelo how he made his statue of David he is reported to have said, "It is easy. You just chip away the stone that doesn't look like David.

No thought is born in me that does not bear the image of death.

Perchance that I might learn what pity is, That I might laugh at erring men no more.

A great sculpture can roll down a hill without breaking.