Never call yourself a philosopher

Never call yourself a philosopher, and don’t talk among laymen for the most part about philosophical principles, but act in accordance with those principles. At a banquet, for example, don’t talk about how one ought to eat, but eat as one ought. Remember how Socrates so completely renounced all outward show that when people came to him and asked to be introduced to philosophers, he would take them along and introduce them, so readily did he submit to being overlooked. And accordingly, if any talk should arise among laymen about some philosophical principle, keep silent for the most part, for there is a great danger that you’ll simply vomit* up what you haven’t properly digested. So when the day arrives when someone tells you that you know nothing, and you, like Socrates, aren’t upset by that, you may be sure that you’re making a start on your work as a philosopher. For sheep, too, don’t vomit up their fodder to show the shepherds how much they’ve eaten, but digest their food inside them, and produce wool and milk on the outside. And so you likewise shouldn’t show off your principles to laymen, but rather show them the actions that result from those principles when they’ve been properly digested.

Epictetus, Enchiridion 46