Michelangelo once sought the assistance of a marble-hewer. The man was amazed to find that Michelangelo's careful directions -- "Cut this, file that, level here, polish there" -- yielded a remarkable marble sculpture.

"What do you think of it?" Michelangelo asked. "I think it's fine," the man replied, "and I am much obliged to you. By your means I have discovered a talent that I did not know I possessed."

[Michelangelo once accepted an unusual commission from the pope: to design the uniforms worn by the Vatican's Swiss Guard. (The red, yellow and blue Renaissance uniforms are among several still worn by the Gendarmeria Pontifica.)]