Palmyrene Statue

The success or failure of a marble sculpture depends on the quality of the marble used. That Michelangelo encountered no problem in the choice and transport of the marble blocks he worked on was essential. I am surprised though, that a block of marble after forty years (William E. Wallace, Michelangelo in and out of Florence, 1992, p.65) didn't suffer any damage due to weathering. Was it stored inside all that time? 

The marble I bought last year is so sandy, crumbly, yellowed, and breakable that it seems impossible to create something out of nothing. I know this guilty feeling, this delay of destiny that forces us to abandon a project. Whether artistic or literary endeavor, should we resign ourselves to calling it a utopia and leaving it to future minds to complete? We are only a link in the infinite chain of life. There can be no regret (ibid., p.65-66).