Pride: The Ultimate Scam

Han van Meegeren, a Dutch artist during the second World War, was once described as having “every virtue but originality.” He was uninspired and struggled with critics’ comments, so he devised a plan. To prove his critics wrong, he would paint a masterpiece anonymously in the style of a famous artist named Johannes Vermeer. Then, once his critics lauded praise over his painting and demanded to know who would take credit for it, he would come forward and declare that he was the artistic genius who created this masterpiece, and they would be forced to take back any negative comment they said about his art. So, he went to work, and after working on this painting for what seemed like ages, it was finished. He anonymously submitted it to some critics, and they were blown away with the mastery. It was accepted so well that it was given a spot of honor at the opening of a prestigious art gallery. It was there that Meegeren was planning to reveal that it was he who painted this picture, but his pride and greed got in the way. Instead of coming forward, he started making millions of dollars for his painting, and it started getting more and more famous.

        Then the Nazis invaded. As they hurried to gain control of all important pieces of art, he was able to sell them his painting. This would ultimately come back to haunt him. When the Allied Forces defeated the Nazis and went to return all of the stolen artworks, they tracked the painting back to Meegeren and wanted to know where he got it. When he told them that he was the one that painted it, they didn’t believe him and threw him in jail for treason. Now facing the death penalty, Meegeren has no choice but to recreate his painting and prove his innocence. He eventually proved his innocence and was able to save his life, but he was facing almost certain death because of his pride.

        Pride is something you find a lot in Virgil’s The Aeneid. Two great warriors, Pallas and Turnus, both lose their lives because of their pride. Pallas was a fantastic warrior. Not only could he fight well, but he could lead well. He was relatively young, and yet he was still able to fight without fear. Virgil’s The Aeneid says that when he stepped onto the battlefield “the blood runs cold in each Arcadian heart.” (10.536) He had many talents, but his fatal flaw was his pride. His fighting skills attract the attention of his enemy Turnus, who is older, bigger, and stronger than Pallas is. When Turnus calls Pallas to fight him, instead of acknowledging that he might be outmatched, Pallas calls back, “Now’s my time to win some glory, either for stripping / off a wealth of spoils or dying a noble death.” (10.530-531) Pallas is outmatched, and Turnus knows it. Despite his valiant efforts, Turnus strikes down Pallas, and blinded by pride, he takes his belt as a trophy. Like Meegeren, Turnus is about to suffer for his pride.

        At the end of book twelve of The Aeneid, Turnus and Aeneas are locked in one last fight to the death. Aeneas has Turnus on the ropes and is about to deliver the final blow, when Turnus pleads with him, “I pray you – you had such a father, in old Anchises - / pity Daunus in his old age and send me back to my own people” (12.1086-1088) For a second, Aeneas is almost persuaded. He has a son, and he knows how much it would crush Turnus’ father, Daunus, to have to bury his son. But then “he caught sight of the fateful sword-belt of Pallas, / swept over Turnus’ shoulder, gleaming with shining studs Aeneas knew by heart.” (12.1099-1100) Aeneas is so overcome with anger that he kills Turnus on the spot in the name of Pallas, all because of Turnus’ pride.

        Pride is something that can creep into your life slowly and cause all sorts of trouble. Whether you’re a Dutch painter or a commander of an army, you can either be taken down by a moment of pride or avoid trouble by being humble. You can learn a lot about the dangers of pride from The Aeneid or you can be like Han van Meegeren and learn the hard way.