In Florence, Italy, a young artist labored long and hard over a marble statue of an angel. When finished, he was so proud of what he had done, he asked Michelangelo to examine it. The young artist stood along side as Michelangelo examined his work. No master looked over the work more carefully - it was perfect in every detail. The young artist waited, but his heart broke when Michelangelo said, "It lacks only one thing," and then walked away. For days the artist could neither eat nor sleep. He decided to call upon Michelangelo at his studio and ask, "What is this one thing my work lacks? Please, tell me, I must know!" Michelangelo responded, "It is perfect in every detail. Your work is magnificent. It only lacks one thing, life itself!" Now the master could not pay any artist a finer compliment, but the young man knew that without life, the best he could achieve was to convert an ugly mass of stone into a beautiful mass of stone. Life was the essential ingredient that his creation lacked.