.. an idea

This is from Matthew 6:2. As my reference shows, it's been translated it many different ways , but I like this version.

You haven't given any context, but you might want to precede it with something like "as the Bible says".

This is certainly the idea that is meant here as conveyed in the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 6, verses 3-4).

"But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: (That thine alms may be in secret)" KJV

A more modern rendering would be:

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, (so that your giving may be in secret)." NIV

Essentially, don't do something good with publicity in mind, keep your good deeds secret.

If you were looking for a more literal rendering, something like this might work:

"making noise does no good; doing good makes no noise"

Hope this helps!

Hello,

I might say it like this.

Our good deeds are to be done discreetly. Jesus said: "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your ...

http://www.oldpaths.com/archive/davison/roy/allen/1940/give....


I hope this helps.

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Note added at 27 mins (2012-09-24 16:17:54 GMT)
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You can be literal here, if you like.

Was just playing around with words.
I have adapted this from the idiom:

"The worth of a thing is what it will bring"
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/worth of a thing is what...
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:sHKtkN-...



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Note added at 44 mins (2012-09-24 16:34:26 GMT)
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OR "..., not its hullabaloo"

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Note added at 44 mins (2012-09-24 16:34:45 GMT)
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But that might not fit context.

Suggestions
Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame. ~Alexander Pope, Epilogue to the Satires, 1738

A charitable man is like an apple tree--he gives his fruit and is silent; the philanthropist is like the successful hen.

AUSTIN O'MALLEY

actions speak louder than words

One more entry ;-)

Je prends le contrepied de la première partie de l'énoncé pour créer un chiasme et conserver ainsi la répéition d'origine.

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Note added at 2 jours34 minutes (2012-09-26 16:24:43 GMT)
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Le mot répété a une connotation religieuse, qui est bien dans l'esprit de St Vincent de Paul.

one possible workaround - replace abstract concepts by persons

quote from St Francis de Sales
http://liturgialatina.blogspot.de/2011/01/29th-january-st-fr...

But there is another version on the web. L.-C. de Saint-Martin's quote is as follows:
“I have desired to do good, but I have not desired to make noise, because I have felt that noise did no good and that good made no noise.”
Louis Claude de Saint-Martin (dit Le philosophe inconnu)

"The Martinism of Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin which is a Mystical tradition in which emphasis is placed on Meditation and inner spiritual alchemy. Saint-Martin disapproved of these teachings being called 'martinism' by his contemporaries, and instead explained it as a silent 'way of the heart' to attain reintegration.

Saint-Martin most likely did not organize this path as an 'order', but gathered small circles of students around him, where he transmitted his teachings. This heritage was reorganized into the 'Ordre Martiniste' in 1886 by Augustin Chaboseau and Gerard Encausse (aka Papus).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinism

http://www.rosicrucian.org/about/tmo/Light_of_Martinism_web_...

Résumé:
"De même qu'il existe une technique de l'Alchimie matérielle, il existe une technique de l'Alchimie spirituelle.
Cette existence très réelle d'un procédé pour parvenir à l'Illumination traditionnelle, tous les vieux maîtres de jadis l'ont enseignée.
Ce chemin intérieur, menant peu à peu l'Adepte vers l'Illuminisme, fut enseigné à de rares intimes par Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, le Philosophe Inconnu. C'est une véritable technique, et non une banale sensibilité; c'est une mystique savante, et non une mystique extatique. Elle nous vient des Rose+Croix d'autrefois.

"J'ai souhaité de faire le bien, mais je n'ai pas souhaité de faire de bruit, car le bruit ne fait pas de bien et le bien ne fait pas de bruit" Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin