CORROBORATING WITNESS—MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI (ABOUT STATUE OF DAVID)
CORROBORATING WITNESS
(Civic Symbolism & Public Meaning)
THE TESTIMONY OF Michelangelo Buonarroti
CALLING THE WITNESS
SPOCK
Affirmative Counsel, you may call your next witness.
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
The court calls Michelangelo Buonarroti.
(A murmur of recognition. The artist steps forward.)
(The WITNESS is sworn.)
SCOPE AND LIMITS OF TESTIMONY
SPOCK
Mr. Buonarroti, you are called as a corroborating witness.
You are not asked to testify to theology, prophecy, or modern political application.
You are asked to testify to artistic intent, historical context, documented chronology, and the public meaning of your work as it existed at the time of its creation and display.
Do you understand the limits of your testimony?
WITNESS (MICHELANGELO)
Yes, Your Honor.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
IDENTIFICATION AND COMMISSION
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
Please state your name and role for the court record.
WITNESS
Michelangelo Buonarroti.
I am a sculptor, painter, and architect of Florence.
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
You were commissioned to sculpt the statue known as David. Is that correct?
WITNESS
Yes.
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
Was this a private devotional work?
WITNESS
No.
It was a public commission.
It was originally intended for Florence Cathedral,
but was ultimately placed before the Palazzo della Signoria,
the seat of civic government.
HISTORICAL RECORD — DATE AND PLACEMENT
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
For the record, when was the statue unveiled to the public?
WITNESS
September 8, 1504.
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
And where was it placed?
WITNESS
In the public square before the Palazzo della Signoria.
SPOCK
The court notes:
September 8, 1504, is historically attested as the date of public unveiling.
The court further notes that September 8 is observed in the Christian calendar as the Feast of the Nativity of Mary.
The date is admitted as historical fact.
The calendrical correspondence is acknowledged without inference.
Proceed.
SCRIPTURAL AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF DAVID
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
Before addressing Florence, explain David’s significance as a figure known to the public at the time.
WITNESS
David was not understood merely as a historical king.
He functioned as a cultural and scriptural symbol—
associated with humility before power,
moral restraint,
and leadership accountable to conscience.
SPOCK
For clarity:
You are describing how David was understood within Scripture and culture,
not asserting theological fulfillment.
WITNESS
Correct.
David carried layered meaning—
biblical memory, civic symbolism, and moral instruction—
already present before the statue was conceived.
DAVID AS CIVIC SYMBOL
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
What did David represent to Florence in 1504?
WITNESS
Florence was a small republic, surrounded by larger powers.
David represented the idea that a free people
could endure without tyranny—
through vigilance, discipline, and restraint.
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
So the statue functioned publicly, not privately.
WITNESS
Yes.
It was civic in purpose and moral in tone.
SPOCK
The court notes:
The testimony frames the statue as public instruction, not decoration.
DAVID BEFORE THE BATTLE
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
Many depictions show David after victory.
Yours does not.
Explain.
WITNESS
I sculpted David before the battle.
He is not celebrating.
He is not striking.
He is thinking.
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
Why that moment?
WITNESS
Because Florence was not victorious.
It was alert.
The statue reflects vigilance rather than triumph.
ORIENTATION AND EXTERNAL THREAT
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
Historians note David’s gaze is directed outward, not inward.
Was that intentional?
WITNESS
Yes.
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
Toward what?
WITNESS
Toward Rome.
SPOCK
Clarify for the record:
Why Rome?
WITNESS
Rome represented empire—
political, military, and cultural dominance.
For Florence, Rome symbolized the question every fragile republic faces:
how to survive power without becoming it.
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
So David is not facing a single enemy.
WITNESS
No.
He faces a structural threat.
RESTRAINT OVER DOMINATION
AFFIRMATIVE COUNSEL (THE A-TEAM)
What warning does David’s posture communicate?
WITNESS
That survival does not come from imitation.
A republic that adopts the methods of empire
ceases to be a republic.
David stands armed—
but restrained.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
SPOCK
Adversarial Counsel, you may cross.
(ADVERSARIAL COUNSEL (SATAN) rises.)
ADVERSARIAL COUNSEL (SATAN)
Mr. Buonarroti, David eventually kills Goliath.
WITNESS
Yes.
ADVERSARIAL COUNSEL (SATAN)
So violence is justified.
WITNESS
The story emphasizes restraint until force becomes unavoidable.
ADVERSARIAL COUNSEL (SATAN)
And Florence eventually fell.
WITNESS
Yes.
ADVERSARIAL COUNSEL (SATAN)
No further questions.
(SATAN sits.)
JUDICIAL HOLDING
SPOCK
The witness has testified to artistic intent, civic symbolism, historical placement, and documented chronology.
The court recognizes this testimony as corroborative evidence regarding public meaning and political symbolism.
The testimony is admitted.
CLOSING REFLECTION — MICHELANGELO AND DAVID
The testimony concerning David establishes the following for the record:
First: the statue was a public civic work, not private devotion.
Second: its placement before the seat of government was deliberate.
Third: David was depicted not in victory, but in vigilance—
armed, restrained, and watchful.
Fourth: his outward gaze signaled awareness of empire,
and a warning against becoming it.
David does not celebrate conquest.
It instructs conscience.
BENCH OBSERVATION
SPOCK
A republic’s greatest test
is not whether it can defeat power—
but whether it can resist imitating it.