Picture: Michaelangelo's David (Credit: Getty Images)
If that doesn’t work, I recommend you go to Florence or Rome. In Florence, you can take a look at Michelangelo’s David. The statue is 17 feet tall. Despite its scale, you can see the tendons and veins in David’s hand. If that doesn’t impress you sufficiently, you can take the train down to Rome and visit the Villa d’Este. Bernini carved the sculpture of a Greek god, struggling with a fishing net as it falls around his head. You can see through the holes in the net, just like you can if you hold a real fishing net above your head. You can see the life-like strain in his muscles and the pressing of the flesh. The only difference is that, like Michelangelo’s David, the statue was carved from a single piece of marble, several centuries ago. And we still marvel at these masterpieces today.
So if you think students and scholars will stand in awe of your accomplishments four or five hundred years from today, feel free to be arrogant. Otherwise, let’s let modesty guide our dress, speech, and manner. If there are accolades to be presented, that’s for others to decide.