The wisdom here cuts against our current moment's demand for constant self-promotion—not by endorsing modesty for its own sake, but by recognizing that sustained effort requires a kind of internal focus that public commentary actually disrupts. When you're explaining your work, you're performing rather than doing; the energy splits. What makes this different from simple "let your work speak for itself" advice is the acknowledgment that *success itself becomes communication*—results need no translator. Consider a musician spending eighteen months perfecting an album in obscurity, then releasing it to immediate recognition: the silence wasn't humility, it was protection for the work's integrity.