hide one's light under a bushel

Idioms  

1. Show extreme modesty, as in Even after Paul won the scholarship be went on hiding his light under a bushel. This expression, which does not necessarily express approval of this behavior, has its origin in the New Testament (Matthew 5:15): “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick.” [Early 1600s]

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Example Sentences

When he was left stranded by the panic of 1857, acting upon his own principle that "to hide one's light under a bushel is to extinguish it," he entered the political arena.

From The Agrarian Crusade; a chronicle of the farmer in politics by Buck, Solon J. (Solon Justus)

One must speak up for oneself, and not hide one's light under a bushel!

From Jena or Sedan? by Beyerlein, Franz

Oh, it doesn't do to hide one's light under a bushel!

From A Fourth Form Friendship A School Story by Brazil, Angela

Social progress has, moreover, made it almost a crime to hide one's light under a bushel.

From Roden's Corner by Merriman, Henry Seton