Modesty
It is a rhetorical rule of thumb that every good speech or piece of writing should begin with an expression of modesty.
That is my new defense. I’ve been told that I make a habit of following that rule a bit too enthusiastically. Let me just say:
I’m not an expert in these things,
but I disagree…
…I think modesty is a virtue, what I have failed to mention is that this rule was the norm in the mid-ninteenth century. I’m not 169 years old, I just sound like it.