"He never asked nor accepted any reward, because he was good and simple and did not think that one did good for a reward." (Primo Levi, If This Is A Man)
Gino Bartali wanted to keep it to himself. How could a man, so famous and so revered, keep it a secret for so long? "Good is something you do, not something you talk about," Bartali once explained. "Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket."
Source: http://edition.cnn.com