How do you interpret this quote?

Question

"A modest man never talks to himself."

I've asked a few people and noone understands it. I love quotes but this one has me stuck. What does this mean? What is the lesson behind it??

Thanks!

Answer 1

I think it is more to do with who listens to us when we talk. A person who is always boasting and talking loudly becomes hard to listen to after a while. We get sick of hearing how great someone thinks they are and how cool they thing the things they have done are. A lot of the time they are speaking for their own benefit, telling themselves as well as everyone else how wonderful they are, but others stop listening after a while and they are essentially talking to themselves.

A modest person, on the other hand, does not tend to talk about themselves. They are capable of speaking about all sorts of interesting things, and in a manner that is demure and inspiring to hear. So, when a modest person speaks, people tend to listen. "A modest man never talks to himself."

Answer 2

i HOPE THIS HELPS YOU AND IT IS THE ONLY interpretation I can think of ,

We see people all the time just waking aroud talking to themselves and even holding a complete cconversation . The old saying goes that if you answer yourself , you are not real smart.

To get to the quote , I think it means that a modest person is sure of himself and doesn't need people looking at him because they don't know who that person is talking to or about.A modest person does not want or need to do something to single himself out ,

That's my best shot .

Good luck on this and I hope I have helped you some.

Answer 3

Consider the alternative: 'A brazen/bold man usually talks to himself'--this description of perspective reasons that such a person holds no aversion to 'speaking to oneself'.

Many might consider such an act to be evidence of a lack of mental capacities but there are also many who consider 'speaking to oneself' to be evidence of thoughtfulness and extra-consideration (like Tom Hanks character in the movie 'Cast Away' interacting with 'Wilson' which essentially placed him talking to himself).

Either may be correct as they are both a matter of perspective and/or personal opinion... similar to how many people consider the concept of Existence to be logical while many others consider the concept of Existence to be illogical.

Answer 4

It's the message currently found  in a fortune cookie.

But it is taken from a teaching of Confucius .... The superior man is modest in his speech but exceeds in his actions.

This was expressed in other places as a "Confucius Say" axiom:

Confucius say: Show-off always shown up in show down. ... A modest man never talks of himself.

Answer 5

A modest man wouldn't want to talk to himself because he is modest and therefore knows that only others can teach him new things. A proud man would only talk to himself because he believes that he is the best, smartest and would have no need for others input.