Frank J. Wilstach, comp. A Dictionary of Similes. 1916.

Modest

Modest as a squash.
—Anonymous

Modest and shy as a nun.
—William Cullen Bryant

In her modesty, like a star among earthly lights.
—Thomas Carlyle

Modest as the violet in dewy dell.
—Francis A. Fahy

Modest as a maid a-christening.
—Charles Macklin

Modest as justice.
—William Shakespeare

Modest as morning when she coldly eyes
The youthful Phœbus.
—William Shakespeare

Modest as a dove.
—William Shakespeare

Modest as a primrose.
—Elizabeth S. P. Ward

Modest as a flower.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox