There is a proud modesty in merit.

There's a proud modesty in merit; averse from asking, and resolved to pay ten times the gifts it asks.

— John Dryden

Modesty is to merit, what shade is to figures in a picture; it gives it strength and makes it stand out.

— Jean de la Bruyere

Modesty is to merit, as shades to figures in a picture, giving it strength and beauty

— Jean De La Bruyere

Assurance and intrepidity, under the white banner of seeming modesty, clear the way for merit, that would otherwise be discouraged by difficulties...

— Lord Chesterfield

The modest man has everything to gain, and the arrogant man everything to lose; for modesty has always to deal with generosity, and arrogance…

— Antoine Rivarol

Any woman may act the part of a coquette successfully who has the reputation without the scruples of modesty. If a woman passes the…

— William Hazlitt

The sage never seems to know his own merits, for only by not noticing them can you call others' attention to them.

— Baltasar Gracian

Mere bashfulness without merit is awkward; and merit without modesty, insolent. But modest merit has a double claim to acceptance, and generally meets with…

— Joseph Addison

Modesty is a learned affectation. And as soon as life slams the modest person against the wall, that modesty drops.

— Maya Angelou

I think in the world of indie music there's this sort of false modesty.

— Alex Kapranos

“Modesty is good. But take your credit. You can't always count on other people to offer it.”

— Alex Irvine

Diffidence is a sort of false modesty.

— William Makepeace Thackeray

Modesty is the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it.

— Oliver Herford

“Oh where is the noble face of modesty, or the strength of virtue, now that blasphemy is in power and men have put justice…

— Euripides

It's a great lesson in modesty that you realize you're illiterate in a field that you think you're an expert in.

— Wim Wenders